Distributed caching systems with configurable extended caching optimization

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for distributed caching of information using extended caching optimization are provided. According to one aspect, a method for distributed caching of information using extended caching optimization includes, at a mobile device for operating in a wireless network, monitoring requests issued from an application located within the device to an external entity not located within the device; storing, in a local cache, responses to the monitored requests received from the external entity; and, in response to identifying a request as one that meets a first criterion for optimization, applying an extended caching optimization, including preventing the identified request from being transmitted to the external entity and providing a response to the identified request from the local cache.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of International Patent ApplicationSerial No. PCT/US14/46537, filed Jul. 14, 2014, which claims the benefitof U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/845,752, filed Jul.12, 2013; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/856,343, filedJul. 19, 2013; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/857,114,filed Jul. 22, 2013; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.61/858,013, filed Jul. 24, 2013; U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 61/859,056, filed Jul. 26, 2013; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/859,364, filed Jul. 29, 2013: U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/860,331, filed Jul. 31, 2013; and U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/861,933, filed Aug. 2, 2013,the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to signaling optimization in telecommunicationnetworks and data networks. More specifically, it relates to methods andsystems for reducing traffic to and from a mobile device via theimplementation of distributed caching systems with configurable extendedcaching optimization.

BACKGROUND

The constant connections and disconnections of a mobile device toservices and entities within a telecommunication and/or data networkincrease the amount of signaling network traffic within that network,which lowers the performance of the network overall. This imposes aburden upon network operators that forces them to increase bandwidth andnetwork access.

It is very common for a mobile device to be receiving data from multiplesources (e.g., servers, web-sites, nodes of a network, etc.) in theservice network. Smart phones, for example, may run several applicationsin parallel, and each application may engage in a periodic ornon-periodic handshake with a network server, such as to check to see ifthere is any content to be downloaded to the mobile device or uploadedfrom the mobile device, to determine whether the connection between themobile device and server should still be maintained, and so on.

In some circumstances, these handshaking interactions have little or novalue to a user, such as when the user is not currently engaged inactive use of the device, e.g., when the screen is dark or when thedevice is lying unused in a purse or backpack. Even when the user isactively using the device, an application on the device that continuallypolls a server to determine if there is content, such as text messages,email, etc., available may generate needless traffic if there is nocontent for the mobile device/user of that device.

In addition, such transactions typically put the mobile device radio ina high-power mode for a considerable length of time—typically between15-30 seconds. As the high-power mode can consume as much as 100× thepower as an idle mode, these network-initiated applications are powerhungry and can quickly drain the battery. The issue has been exacerbatedby the rapid increase of the popularity of applications withnetwork-initiated functionalities, such as push email, news feeds,status updates, multimedia content sharing and other mobileapplications, etc. Furthermore, the problem with constant polling isthat mobile phones also rely on signaling to send and receive calls andSMS messages and sometimes these basic mobile functions are forced totake a backseat to unruly applications and other mobile clients.

Thus, not only do these transactions consume battery power of thedevice—e.g., to activate an otherwise dormant radio transceivercircuit—the traffic so generated by these handshaking transactionsconsumes wireless bandwidth, such as between the mobile device and thecell tower, for example.

Therefore, in light of these disadvantages associated with conventionalinteractions between applications residing on a mobile device and thenetwork entities with which the mobile device and its applications mayinteract, there is a need to optimize or reduce this kind of traffic.More specifically, there is a need for distributed caching systems withconfigurable extended caching optimization.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect, a method for distributed caching of informationusing extended caching optimization. The method includes, at a mobiledevice for operating in a wireless network, monitoring requests issuedfrom an application located within the device to an external entity notlocated within the device; storing, in a local cache, responses to themonitored requests received from the external entity; and, in responseto identifying a request as one that meets a first criterion foroptimization, applying an extended caching optimization, includingpreventing the identified request from being transmitted to the externalentity and providing a response to the identified request from the localcache.

According to another aspect, the subject matter described hereinincludes a system for distributed caching of information using extendedcaching optimization. The system includes a mobile device for operatingin a wireless network. The device includes a local cache and a localproxy for monitoring requests issued from an application located withinthe device to an external entity not located within the device and forstoring, in the local cache, responses to the monitored requestsreceived from the external entity. The local proxy identifies a requestas one that meets a first criterion for optimization and applys anextended caching optimization, including preventing the identifiedrequest from being transmitted to the external entity and providing aresponse to the identified request from the local cache.

According to yet another aspect, the subject matter described hereinincludes a computer program product for distributed caching ofinformation using extended caching optimization. The computer programproduct includes a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumhaving computer readable code embodied therewith, the computer readablecode configured for at a mobile device for operating in a wirelessnetwork, monitoring requests issued from an application located withinthe device to an external entity not located within the device; storing,in a local cache, responses to the monitored requests received from theexternal entity; and, in response to identifying a request as one thatmeets a first criterion for optimization, applying an extended cachingoptimization, including preventing the identified request from beingtransmitted to the external entity and providing a response to theidentified request from the local cache.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present embodiments are illustrated by way of example and are notintended to be limited by the figures of the accompanying drawings. Inthe drawings:

FIG. 1A depicts a diagram illustrating example resources, including anextended caching optimization engine and an extended cachingoptimization manager that can function individually and/or together toimplement the techniques disclosed herein;

FIG. 1B depicts an example diagram of a system where a host serverfacilitates management of traffic, content caching, and/or resourceconservation, and/or extended caching optimization;

FIG. 1C depicts an example diagram of a proxy and cache systemdistributed between the host server and device which facilitates networktraffic management and/or extended caching optimization;

FIG. 1D depicts an example diagram of the logical architecture of adistributed proxy and cache system;

FIG. 1E depicts an example diagram showing the architecture of clientside components in a distributed proxy and cache system with an extendedcaching optimization engine implemented on the client-side proxy;

FIG. 1F depicts an example diagram of the example components on theserver side of the distributed proxy and cache system with an extendedcaching optimization manager implemented on the server-side proxy;

FIG. 1G depicts an example diagram of a signaling optimizer of thedistributed proxy and cache system;

FIG. 1H depicts an example diagram of an example client-serverarchitecture of the distributed proxy and cache system;

FIG. 1I depicts an example diagram illustrating data flows betweenexample client side components in a distributed proxy and cache system;

FIG. 2A depicts a block diagram illustrating an example of client-sidecomponents in a distributed proxy and cache system residing on a mobiledevice (e.g., wireless device) that manages traffic in a wirelessnetwork (or broadband network) for resource conservation, contentcaching, traffic management, and/or extended caching optimization;

FIG. 2B depicts a block diagram illustrating a further example ofcomponents in the cache system shown in the example of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C depicts a block diagram illustrating additional components inthe application behavior detector and the caching policy manager in thecache system shown in the example of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2D depicts a block diagram illustrating examples of additionalcomponents in the local cache shown in the example of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A depicts a block diagram illustrating an example of server-sidecomponents in a distributed proxy and cache system that manages trafficin a wireless network (or broadband network) for resource conservation,content caching, traffic management, and/or extended cachingoptimization;

FIG. 3B depicts a block diagram illustrating a further example ofcomponents in the caching policy manager in the cache system shown inthe example of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C depicts a block diagram illustrating another example ofcomponents in the proxy system shown in the example of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3D depicts a block diagram illustrating examples of additionalcomponents in proxy server shown in the example of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A depicts a block diagram illustrating another example ofclient-side components in a distributed proxy and cache system, furtherincluding an extended caching optimization engine;

FIG. 4B depicts a block diagram illustrating additional components inthe extended caching optimization engine shown in the example of FIG.4A;

FIG. 5A depicts a block diagram illustrating an example of server-sidecomponents in a distributed proxy and cache system, further including anextended caching optimization manager;

FIG. 5B depicts a block diagram illustrating additional components inthe extended caching optimization manager shown in the example of FIG.5A;

FIG. 6 depicts a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the exampleform of a computer system within which a set of instructions, forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein, may be executed; and

FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process fordistributed caching of information using extended caching optimizationaccording to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein.

The same reference numbers and any acronyms identify elements or actswith the same or similar structure or functionality throughout thedrawings and specification for ease of understanding and convenience.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and drawings are illustrative and are not tobe construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described toprovide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, in certaininstances, well-known or conventional details are not described in orderto avoid obscuring the description. References to one or an embodimentin the present disclosure can be, but not necessarily are, references tothe same embodiment; and, such references mean at least one of theembodiments.

Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodimentsmutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features aredescribed which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others.Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirementsfor some embodiments but not other embodiments.

The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinarymeanings in the art, within the context of the disclosure, and in thespecific context where each term is used. Certain terms that are used todescribe the disclosure are discussed below, or elsewhere in thespecification, to provide additional guidance to the practitionerregarding the description of the disclosure. For convenience, certainterms may be highlighted, for example using italics and/or quotationmarks. The use of highlighting has no influence on the scope and meaningof a term; the scope and meaning of a term is the same, in the samecontext, whether or not it is highlighted. It will be appreciated thatsame thing can be said in more than one way.

Consequently, alternative language and synonyms may be used for any oneor more of the terms discussed herein, nor is any special significanceto be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussedherein. Synonyms for certain terms are provided. A recital of one ormore synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use ofexamples anywhere in this specification including examples of any termsdiscussed herein is illustrative only, and is not intended to furtherlimit the scope and meaning of the disclosure or of any exemplifiedterm. Likewise, the disclosure is not limited to various embodimentsgiven in this specification.

Without intent to limit the scope of the disclosure, examples ofinstruments, apparatus, methods and their related results according tothe embodiments of the present disclosure are given below. Note thattitles or subtitles may be used in the examples for convenience of areader, which in no way should limit the scope of the disclosure. Unlessotherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein havethe same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in theart to which this disclosure pertains. In the case of conflict, thepresent document, including definitions will control.

FIG. 1A depicts a diagram 10 illustrating example resources thatimplement the extended caching optimization techniques disclosed herein.Included in the diagram 10 are a mobile device 101, a host server 111, aplurality of third-party servers 119, and a communications network 117.

The mobile device 101 and host servers 111, 119 are coupled incommunication for data transmission over the network 117. For example,the components may be connected via a twisted pair cabling network, acoax cable network, a telephonic network, or any suitable type ofconnection network. In some embodiments, the network 117 may bewireless. The technologies supporting the communications between themobile device 101 and host servers 111, 119 may include Ethernet,cellular, WiFi, and/or other suitable types of area networktechnologies. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that thecomponents of FIG. 1 are just one implementation of the computer networkenvironment within which present embodiments may be implemented, and thevarious alternative embodiments are within the scope of the presentembodiments. For example, the network 117 may include interveningdevices (e.g., switches, routers, hubs, base stations, etc.) in thenetwork 117. In some examples, the network 117 comprises the Internet.Depending on the embodiments, mobile device 101 can be connecteddirectly to the host server 111, or via the network 117, or both.

The host server 111 may be one or more server computers or work stationsthat are employed by a merchant for hosting websites that function as achannel to customer users for browsing products and placing purchaseorders. The host server 111 typically includes at least one processorand a memory, and may be further connected to one or more computers (notshown in FIG. 1 for simplicity) that manage inventory, logistics and/orother commercial functions via the network 117. The host server 111 maybe a host server that facilitates management of traffic, contentcaching, and/or resource conservation (e.g., the host server 100,described in FIG. 1B below) or another server that is separate from thehost server 100. Depending on the embodiments, this separate server maybe a portion of the host server 100, or it may be hosted by a thirdparty (e.g., the third-party server 119).

The mobile device 101, which may be used by a customer user tocommunicate with the host server 111, may include a laptop, a tablet, apersonal computer, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), a smart phone,and the like. The mobile device 101 typically includes a display (notshown in FIG. 1 for simplicity), and may include suitable input devices(not shown for simplicity) such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a touchpad.In some embodiments, the display may be a touch-sensitive screen thatincludes input functionalities.

Applications 102 (e.g., applications 102A-102N) are example applicationsof the mobile device 101. Applications 102 on mobile device 101 cancommunicate directly to the third-party servers 119 via the network 117.Some examples of applications 102 include news application, weatherservices, email clients, and/or social network applications. In general,each application 102 has a plurality of data relevant or necessary tothe normal operations of the application. It is also typical that theseapplications 102 routinely communicate with the third-party servers 119(e.g., via well-known polling techniques) for any update, and receivethe updates via the network 117, using one or more radio communicationmodules (not shown in FIG. 1 for simplicity).

Signal Optimization

The embodiments disclosed herein recognize that the number andcapability of mobile devices have increased dramatically in recentyears, putting tremendous pressure on mobile carriers to optimize andmanage finite network resources. Subscribers use their devices moreintensively than ever, installing any number of countless thousands ofapplications. Carriers have no control over what applications areinstalled on end-user devices or the behavior of those apps. This hasled to a loss of operator control over mobile data traffic itself.

Accordingly, as is described in more detail below, the presentdisclosure addresses these challenges by optimizing and managingsignaling activity, increasing control over data traffic for mobilecarriers. It conserves network bandwidth, freeing capacity for uses thatprovide the highest value to subscribers.

More specifically, many mobile applications (e.g., applications102A-102N) regularly poll their application servers 119A-119N to checkfor new data. Every time an application (e.g., application 102A) checksfor updates, even when no new data is available, the device signals thewireless network (e.g., network 117). This signaling activity createscongestion as the radio network is overwhelmed with constant requests toconnect. Network bandwidth is wasted when applications repeatedlydownload unchanged content. Carriers face increasing costs as they areforced to expand capacity to accommodate both excessive signalingactivity and increasing demand for bandwidth. Unnecessary mobilesignaling has an adverse effect on end-user experience, including longersetup times, slower speeds, and even denial of service. It results inshorter battery life for devices (e.g., device 101)—an issue thatimpacts both subscribers and device manufacturers.

In general, the signaling optimization techniques disclosed hereinsignificantly reduce mobile signaling to relieve mobile networkcongestion. The techniques can manage the exchange of controlinformation and content between mobile devices and the network, usingvarious virtualized proxy and caching technologies. They can analyzemobile application data requests, transparently detect redundant trafficpatterns and cache the results of unnecessary requests on the client.The signal optimization server (e.g., host server 111) polls forupdates, so that the client (e.g., device 101, through local proxy 105)connects to the network only when updates are available. Optimizingsignaling at the handset prevents consumption of network resources,enabling more efficient use of those resources. Caching content on theclient (e.g., at local cache 185) also reduces network bandwidthutilization. In one embodiment, local cache 185 may be used to storecopies of requests received from applications 102, copies of responsesreceived from host server 111, or other useful information.

The disclosed signaling optimization techniques reduce operators' costsby delaying the need for expensive upgrades to wireless networkinfrastructure. They improve subscriber experience by increasing servicelevels and extending the battery life of mobile devices.

Moreover, it is noted that the signaling optimization techniquesdisclosed herein are transparent to end users and to the operation oftheir mobile apps, with a minimal impact on device CPU and memory. Thetechniques which can be implemented in form of, for example, softwarerequire no (or little, if any) changes to applications or to the networkitself, thereby supporting any underlying mobile network technology.These techniques can also complement other techniques for mobile trafficmanagement, including compression and deep packet inspection.

Overall, among other benefits, the disclosed techniques can reducewireless operator costs, conserve mobile network bandwidth,significantly reduce mobile signaling, delay the needs for wirelessinfrastructure upgrades, and extend device battery life and improvesservice levels.

In accordance with some embodiments, a client component (e.g., localproxy 105) and a server component (e.g., proxy server 113) can eitherindividually or together or both perform the signal optimizationtechniques. Customers can choose between two deployment models for theserver software. In some embodiments, Hosted deployment allows customersto get the solution up and running as quickly as possible.

In-network deployment of the server software is recommended forcustomers who want in-house, hands-on control over all aspects of thesolution. In this model, the management server resides in the customerdata center. Pushing optimization to the client stops unnecessarysignaling before it can consume network resources. This is in contrastto conventional approaches to addressing the signaling challenge, whichrely on network-side capabilities such as deep packet inspection.

Signal Optimization—Extended Caching

It is a goal for the network carriers seek to maximize the aggregatevalue provided by finite network resources across the entire subscriberbase, which requires that these resources be allocated to theirhighest-value uses. This approach allows the carriers to maximize theirability to monetize infrastructure investments. The “Extended Caching”techniques, which are disclosed herein and will be described in moredetails below, are a powerful tool in achieving these goals.

More specifically, it is recognized by the disclosed embodiments thatthere is an inherent trade-off in the frequency of updates for mobileapps and the consumption of network resources. When no update isavailable, the present embodiments recognize that connecting to thenetwork serves no useful purpose and needlessly consumes networkresources.

Furthermore, even when an update is available, the user may not derivemuch or any benefit from it as not all updates are created equal—endusers derive more benefit from some updates than others. Updates thatoccur when a device is actively being used are more useful and valuableto the user than those that occur when the device is asleep. The cost,in terms of mobile network resource consumed in providing updates, mayeasily exceed the benefit; especially if the device is not beingactively used. For example, when the screen is not lit and the radio isinactive, the user may have left the device in another room. In thiscommon situation, no benefit is received, but network resources areconsumed. Thus, network resources are being misallocated in the sensethat they are being applied in a way that yields little or no subscribervalue. The subscriber base as a whole is better served if those networkresources are allocated to users who are actually using their devices atthe time. Information on the device state can serve as a useful tool forcarriers to determine the benefit that an update provides.

As such, in some embodiments, such as system 10 shown in FIG. 1A, thelocal proxy 105 includes an extended caching optimization engine 107,and the proxy server 113 includes an extended caching optimizationmanager 115 that can function individually and/or together to implementthe techniques disclosed herein. In one embodiment, proxy server 113 mayinclude a server cache 135, which may be used to store requests receivedfrom mobile device 101, responses received from servers 119, or otheruseful information.

Configurable Settings in Extended Caching Optimization

The extended caching optimization engine 107 (and/or the extendedcaching optimization manager 115) includes configurable cache settingsto fine tune the way the product responds to changes in cachedresources. For example, extended caching optimization engine 107 canapply to situations when the screen is not lit or the radio is notconnected to the network. These device states correspond to situationswhere the user is likely to receive less benefit from an update, evenwhen one is available. Extended cache settings delay delivery of updatesin device states where the end user receives less benefit from gettingan update at that particular moment in time.

The extended caching optimization engine 107 (and/or the extendedcaching optimization manager 115) includes a configurable, “tunable”parameter because carriers require fine-grained control to allocatefinite resources to the highest-value use case. The choice of whichconfiguration settings to use can be a judgment call on the part of thecarrier, and can be made in the context of each carrier network's uniquesubscriber base, usage patterns, and behaviors. As an example of theflexibility of the configurable settings, the lowest setting level(default) tunes the product to favor priority of end-user experienceover congestion relief/battery life. This is in contrast to the highestsetting level that favors congestion relief/battery life over priorityof end-user experience.

The Extended Caching settings can be modified in real time using eitheran application programming interface (API) (e.g., a proprietary “REST”API as provided by SEVEN Networks Inc.) or a Management Web Interface.Changes to settings are communicated to in-market devices immediately(e.g., from the optimization manager 115 to the optimization engine107). Devices (e.g., device 101) that may be powered off at the time ofthe change receives the most recent update when they return to thenetwork 117.

In some embodiments, Extended Caching settings apply to all applicationsthat are being optimized by Open Channel Signaling Optimization. In someother embodiments, Extended Caching to be enabled for selectiveapplications.

Also, in one or more embodiments, Extended Caching levels can be set onan individual user basis. This can be done via integration with the RESTAPI. In addition, some embodiments support creation of Extended CachingGroups which can be used to associate users with common data plans,etc., to specific Extended Caching settings.

These and various other embodiments and implementations of the disclosedextended caching optimization (ECO) techniques in achieving aggressivesignal optimization, as well as various components in the embodiments ofECO techniques (e.g., ECO engine 107 and/or ECO manager 115), aredescribed in more details below. It is further noted that some specificexamples of the extended caching optimization engine 107 and theextended caching optimization manager 115, including their behaviorsunder different configurable settings in performing different functions(e.g., which may be aimed at solving different scenarios) are introducedin relation to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5A and 5B.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example diagram of a system where a host server100 facilitates management of traffic, content caching, and/or resourceconservation and/or signal optimization or extended caching optimizationbetween mobile devices (e.g., wireless devices 150), and an applicationserver or content provider 110, or other servers such as an ad server120A, promotional content server 120B, or an e-coupon server 120C in awireless network (or broadband network) for resource conservation. Thehost server 100 can further interact with mobile or client devices 150for getting reports and/or updates on resource usage, savings, and thelike.

Client device 150 can be any system and/or device, and/or anycombination of devices/systems that is able to establish a connection,including wired, wireless, and cellular connections, with anotherdevice, a server, and/or other systems, such as host server 100 and/orapplication server/content provider 110. Client devices 150 may provideto a user 103 a user interface 104, which may include a display and/orother output functionalities to present information and data exchangedbetween among the devices 150 and/or the host server 100 and/orapplication server/content provider 110. The application server/contentprovider 110 can by any server, including third party servers orservice/content providers further including advertisement, promotionalcontent, publication, or electronic coupon servers or services.Similarly, separate advertisement servers 120A, promotional contentservers 120B, and/or e-Coupon servers 120C as application servers orcontent providers are illustrated by way of example.

For example, client devices 150 can include mobile, hand held orportable devices, wireless devices, or non-portable devices and can beany of, but not limited to, a server desktop, a desktop computer, acomputer cluster, or portable devices, including a notebook, a laptopcomputer, a handheld computer, a palmtop computer, a mobile phone, acell phone, a smart phone, a PDA, a Blackberry device, a Palm device, ahandheld tablet (e.g., an iPad or any other tablet), a hand heldconsole, a hand held gaming device or console, any SuperPhone such asthe iPhone, and/or any other portable, mobile, hand held devices, orfixed wireless interface such as a M2M device, etc. In one embodiment,the client devices 150, host server 100, and application server 110 arecoupled via a network 106 and/or a network 108. In one embodiment,network 106 may be a cellular or mobile network, which device 150 mayconnect to via a base station, radio network controller, or radio accessnetwork, represented in FIG. 1B as a cell phone tower 112. In someembodiments, the devices 150 and host server 100 may be directlyconnected to one another.

The input mechanism on client devices 150 can include touch screenkeypad (including single touch, multi-touch, gesture sensing in 2D or3D, etc.), a physical keypad, a mouse, a pointer, a track pad, motiondetector (e.g., including 1-axis, 2-axis, 3-axis accelerometer, etc.), alight sensor, capacitance sensor, resistance sensor, temperature sensor,proximity sensor, a piezoelectric device, device orientation detector(e.g., electronic compass, tilt sensor, rotation sensor, gyroscope,accelerometer), or a combination of the above.

Signals received or detected indicating user activity at client devices150 through one or more of the above input mechanism, or others, can beused in the disclosed technology in acquiring context awareness at theclient device 150. Context awareness at client devices 150 generallyincludes, by way of example but not limitation, client device 150operation or state acknowledgement, management, useractivity/behavior/interaction awareness, detection, sensing, tracking,trending, and/or application (e.g., mobile applications) type, behavior,activity, operating state, etc.

Context awareness in the present disclosure also includes knowledge anddetection of network side contextual data and can include networkinformation such as network capacity, bandwidth, traffic, type ofnetwork/connectivity, and/or any other operational state data and/ormobile application loading and/or activities. Network side contextualdata can be received from and/or queried from network service providers(e.g., cell provider 112 and/or Internet service providers) of thenetwork 106 and/or network 108 (e.g., by the host server and/or devices150). In addition to application context awareness as determined fromthe client 150 side, the application context awareness may also bereceived from or obtained/queried from the respectiveapplication/service providers 110 (by the host 100 and/or client devices150).

The host server 100 can use, for example, contextual informationobtained for client devices 150, networks 106/108, applications (e.g.,mobile applications), application server/provider 110, or anycombination of the above, to manage the traffic in the system to satisfydata needs of the client devices 150 (e.g., to satisfy application orany other request including HTTP request). In one embodiment, thetraffic is managed by the host server 100 to satisfy data requests madein response to explicit or non-explicit user 103 requests and/ordevice/application maintenance tasks. The traffic can be managed suchthat network consumption, for example, use of the cellular network isconserved for effective and efficient bandwidth utilization. Inaddition, the host server 100 can manage and coordinate such traffic inthe system such that use of device 150 side resources (e.g., includingbut not limited to battery power consumption, radio use,processor/memory use) are optimized with a general philosophy forresource conservation while still optimizing performance and userexperience.

For example, in context of battery conservation, the device 150 canobserve user activity (for example, by observing user keystrokes,backlight status, or other signals via one or more input mechanisms,etc.) and alter device 150 behaviors. The device 150 can also requestthe host server 100 to alter the behavior for network resourceconsumption based on user activity or behavior.

In one embodiment, the traffic management for resource conservationand/or mobile application offloading are performed using a distributedsystem between the host server 100 and client device 150. Thedistributed system can include proxy server and cache components on theserver side 100 and on the device/client side, for example, as shown bythe server cache 135 on the server 100 side and the local cache 185 onthe client 150 side.

Functions and techniques disclosed for context aware traffic managementand/or mobile application offloading for resource conservation innetworks (e.g., network 106 and/or 108) and devices 150, can reside in adistributed proxy and cache system. The proxy and cache system can bedistributed between, and reside on, a given client device 150 in part orin whole and/or host server 100 in part or in whole. The distributedproxy and cache system are illustrated with further reference to theexample diagram shown in FIG. 1C. Notably, in some embodiments of suchsystems, the host server 100 can include or correspond to the hostserver 111 (FIG. 1A), the application server 110 can include orcorrespond to the third-party servers 119 (FIG. 1A), and/or the mobiledevice 150 can include or correspond to the mobile device 101 (FIG. 1A).

In one embodiment, client devices 150 communicate with the host server100 and/or the application server 110 over network 106, which can be acellular network and/or a broadband network. To facilitate overalltraffic management and/or signal optimization between devices 150 andvarious application servers/content providers 110 to implement network(bandwidth utilization) and device resource (e.g., battery consumption),the host server 100 can communicate with the applicationserver/providers 110 over the network 108, which can include theInternet (e.g., a broadband network).

In general, the networks 106 and/or 108, over which the client devices150, the host server 100, and/or application server 110 communicate, maybe a cellular network, a broadband network, a telephonic network, anopen network, such as the Internet, or a private network, such as anintranet and/or the extranet, or any combination thereof. For example,the Internet can provide file transfer, remote log in, email, news, RSS,cloud-based services, instant messaging, visual voicemail, push mail,VoIP, and other services through any known or convenient protocol, suchas, but is not limited to the TCP/IP protocol, UDP, HTTP, DNS, FTP,UPnP, NSF, ISDN, PDH, RS-232, SDH, SONET, etc.

The networks 106 and/or 108 can be any collection of distinct networksoperating wholly or partially in conjunction to provide connectivity tothe client devices 150 and the host server 100 and may appear as one ormore networks to the serviced systems and devices. In one embodiment,communications to and from the client devices 150 can be achieved by, anopen network, such as the Internet, or a private network, broadbandnetwork, such as an intranet and/or the extranet. In one embodiment,communications can be achieved by a secure communications protocol, suchas secure sockets layer (SSL), or transport layer security (TLS).

In addition, communications can be achieved via one or more networks,such as, but are not limited to, one or more of WiMax, a Local AreaNetwork (LAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a Personal areanetwork (PAN), a Campus area network (CAN), a Metropolitan area network(MAN), a Wide area network (WAN), a Wireless wide area network (WWAN),or any broadband network, and further enabled with technologies such as,by way of example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM),Personal Communications Service (PCS), Bluetooth, WiFi, Fixed WirelessData, 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 4G, IMT-Advanced, pre-4G, LTE Advanced, mobileWiMax, WiMax 2, WirelessMAN-Advanced networks, enhanced data rates forGSM evolution (EDGE), General packet radio service (GPRS), enhancedGPRS, iBurst, UMTS, HSPDA, HSUPA, HSPA, UMTS-TDD, 1xRTT, EV-DO,messaging protocols such as, TCP/IP, SMS, MMS, extensible messaging andpresence protocol (XMPP), real time messaging protocol (RTMP), instantmessaging and presence protocol (IMPP), instant messaging, USSD, IRC, orany other wireless data networks, broadband networks, or messagingprotocols.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example diagram of a proxy and cache systemdistributed between the host server 100 and device 150 which facilitatesnetwork traffic management and/or signal optimization (includingextended caching) between the device 150 and an application server orcontent provider 110, or other servers such as an ad server 120A,promotional content server 120B, or an e-coupon server 120C for resourceconservation and content caching The proxy system distributed among thehost server 100 and the device 150 can further track alarms, timers orother triggers implemented by applications on a device and resourcesused by such alarms, timers, or other triggers to determine associationsusing which the proxy system can manipulate the alarms, timers or othertriggers to occur at an optimal time to reduce resource usage.

The distributed proxy and cache system can include, for example, theproxy server 125 (e.g., remote proxy) and the server cache, 135components on the server side. The server-side proxy 125 and cache 135can, as illustrated, reside internal to the host server 100. Inaddition, the proxy server 125 and cache 135 on the server-side can bepartially or wholly external to the host server 100 and in communicationvia one or more of the networks 106 and 108. For example, the proxyserver 125 may be external to the host server and the server cache 135may be maintained at the host server 100. Alternatively, the proxyserver 125 may be within the host server 100 while the server cache isexternal to the host server 100. In addition, each of the proxy server125 and the cache 135 may be partially internal to the host server 100and partially external to the host server 100. The applicationserver/content provider 110 can by any server including third partyservers or service/content providers further including advertisement,promotional content, publication, or electronic coupon servers orservices. Similarly, separate advertisement servers 120A, promotionalcontent servers 120B, and/or e-Coupon servers 120C as applicationservers or content providers are illustrated by way of example.

The distributed system can also, include, in one embodiment, client-sidecomponents, including by way of example but not limitation, a localproxy 175 (e.g., a mobile client on a mobile device) and/or a localcache 185, which can, as illustrated, reside internal to the device 150(e.g., a mobile device).

In addition, the client-side proxy 175 and local cache 185 can bepartially or wholly external to the device 150 and in communication viaone or more of the networks 106 and 108. For example, the local proxy175 may be external to the device 150 and the local cache 185 may bemaintained at the device 150. Alternatively, the local proxy 175 may bewithin the device 150 while the local cache 185 is external to thedevice 150. In addition, each of the proxy 175 and the cache 185 may bepartially internal to the host server 100 and partially external to thehost server 100.

In one embodiment, the distributed system can include an optionalcaching proxy server 199. The caching proxy server 199 can be acomponent which is operated by the application server/content provider110, the host server 100, or a network service provider 112, and or anycombination of the above to facilitate network traffic management fornetwork and device resource conservation. Proxy server 199 can be used,for example, for caching content to be provided to the device 150, forexample, from one or more of, the application server/provider 110, hostserver 100, and/or a network service provider 112. Content caching canalso be entirely or partially performed by the remote proxy 125 tosatisfy application requests or other data requests at the device 150.

In context aware traffic management and optimization for resourceconservation in a network (e.g., cellular or other wireless networks),characteristics of user activity/behavior and/or application behavior ata mobile device (e.g., any wireless device) 150 can be tracked by thelocal proxy 175 and communicated, over the network 106 to the proxyserver 125 component in the host server 100, for example, as connectionmetadata. The proxy server 125 which in turn is coupled to theapplication server/provider 110 provides content and data to satisfyrequests made at the device 150.

In addition, the local proxy 175 can identify and retrieve mobile deviceproperties, including one or more of, battery level, network that thedevice is registered on, radio state, or whether the mobile device isbeing used (e.g., interacted with by a user). In some instances, thelocal proxy 175 can delay, expedite (prefetch), and/or modify data priorto transmission to the proxy server 125, when appropriate.

The local database 185 can be included in the local proxy 175 or coupledto the local proxy 175 and can be queried for a locally stored responseto the data request prior to the data request being forwarded on to theproxy server 125. Locally cached responses can be used by the localproxy 175 to satisfy certain application requests of the mobile device150, by retrieving cached content stored in the cache storage 185, whenthe cached content is still valid.

Similarly, the proxy server 125 of the host server 100 can also delay,expedite, or modify data from the local proxy prior to transmission tothe content sources (e.g., the application server/content provider 110).In addition, the proxy server 125 uses device properties and connectionmetadata to generate rules for satisfying request of applications on themobile device 150. The proxy server 125 can gather real time trafficinformation about requests of applications for later use in optimizingsimilar connections with the mobile device 150 or other mobile devices.

In general, the local proxy 175 and the proxy server 125 are transparentto the multiple applications executing on the mobile device. The localproxy 175 is generally transparent to the operating system or platformof the mobile device and may or may not be specific to devicemanufacturers. In some instances, the local proxy 175 is optionallycustomizable in part or in whole to be device specific. In someembodiments, the local proxy 175 may be bundled into a wireless model, afirewall, and/or a router.

In one embodiment, the host server 100 can in some instances, utilizethe store and forward functions of a short message service center (SMSC)114, such as that provided by the network service provider, incommunicating with the device 150 in achieving network trafficmanagement. Note that 114 can also utilize any other type of alternativechannel including USSD or other network control mechanisms. The hostserver 100 can forward content or HTTP responses to the SMSC 114 suchthat it is automatically forwarded to the device 150 if available, andfor subsequent forwarding if the device 150 is not currently available.

In general, the disclosed distributed proxy and cache system allowsoptimization of network usage, for example, by serving requests from thelocal cache 185, the local proxy 175 reduces the number of requests thatneed to be satisfied over the network 106. Further, the local proxy 175and the proxy server 125 may filter irrelevant data from thecommunicated data. In addition, the local proxy 175 and the proxy server125 can also accumulate low priority data and send it in batches toavoid the protocol overhead of sending individual data fragments. Thelocal proxy 175 and the proxy server 125 can also compress or transcodethe traffic, reducing the amount of data sent over the network 106and/or 108. The signaling traffic in the network 106 and/or 108 can bereduced, as the networks are now used less often and the network trafficcan be synchronized among individual applications.

With respect to the battery life of the mobile device 150, by servingapplication or content requests from the local cache 185, the localproxy 175 can reduce the number of times the radio module is powered up.The local proxy 175 and the proxy server 125 can work in conjunction toaccumulate low priority data and send it in batches to reduce the numberof times and/or amount of time when the radio is powered up. The localproxy 175 can synchronize the network use by performing the batched datatransfer for all connections simultaneously.

FIG. 1D illustrates an example diagram of the logical architecture of adistributed proxy and cache system.

The distributed system can include, for example the followingcomponents:

Client Side Proxy 175: a component installed in the Smartphone, mobiledevice or wireless device 150 that interfaces with device's operatingsystem, as well as with data services and applications installed in thedevice. The client side proxy 175 is typically compliant with and ableto operate with standard or state of the art networking protocols.

The server side proxy 125 can include one or more servers that caninterface with third party application servers (e.g., 199), mobileoperator's network (which can be proxy 199 or an additional server thatis not illustrated) and/or the client side proxy 175, either directly orvia an intermediary element, such as SMSC 114. In general, the serverside proxy 125 can be compliant with and is generally able to operatewith standard or state of the art networking protocols and/orspecifications for interacting with mobile network elements and/or thirdparty servers.

Reporting and Usage Analytics Server 174: The Reporting and UsageAnalytics system or component 174 can collect information from theclient side 175 and/or the server side 125 and provides the necessarytools for producing reports and usage analytics can used for analyzingtraffic and signaling data. Such analytics can be used by the proxysystem in managing/reducing network traffic or by the network operatorin monitoring their networks for possible improvements and enhancements.Note that the reporting and usage analytics system/component 174 asillustrated, may be a server separate from the server-side proxy 125, orit may be a component of the server-side proxy 125, residing partiallyor wholly therein.

Notably, in some embodiments of such systems, the client-side proxy 175can include or correspond to the local proxy 105 (FIG. 1A), and theserver-side proxy 125 can include or correspond to the proxy server 113(FIG. 1A).

FIG. 1E illustrates an example diagram showing the architecture ofclient side components in a distributed proxy and cache system. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 1E, client side components include themobile operating system 162 and mobile applications 163, collectivelyreferred to as the mobile OS and apps 165.

Other client side components include client side proxy 175, which caninclude software components or agents installed on the mobile devicethat enables traffic optimization and performs the relatedfunctionalities on the client side. Components of the client side proxy175 can operate transparently for end users and applications 163. Theclient side proxy 175 can be installed on mobile devices foroptimization to take place, and it can effectuate changes on the dataroutes. Once data routing is modified, the client side proxy 175 canrespond to application requests to service providers or host servers, inaddition to or instead of letting those applications 163 access datanetwork directly. In general, applications 163 on the mobile device donot notice that the client side proxy 175 is responding to theirrequests. Some example components of the client side proxy 175 aredescribed as follows:

Device State Monitor 121: The device state monitor 121 can beresponsible for identifying several states and metrics in the device,such as network status, display status, battery level, etc. (referred toas radio/battery/display information 161), such that the remainingcomponents in the client side proxy 175 can operate and make decisionsaccording to device state, acting in an optimal way in each state.

Extended Caching Optimization Engine 177: Similar to what are mentionedwith regard to the optimization engine 107 in FIG. 1A, the optimizationengine 177 can perform, either individually or in conjunction withExtended Caching Optimization Manager 179 (FIG. 1F, discussed below),the signal optimization techniques disclosed herein. In the embodimentshown in FIG. 1E, the optimization engine 177 is coupled to the devicestate monitor 121 to receive application activity, battery, networkstatus, display or LCD status (e.g., backlit status) as well as userselection, an administrator's selection, and/or other suitableinformation in determining, for example, user inactivity, radioavailability, prediction of user activity (e.g., based on historicalpatterns), and/or network health state (e.g., congestion). Theoptimization engine 177 can also communicate with the server-side proxy125 (FIG. 1F) for selectively caching one or more operational data(e.g., requests and/or responses) of applications 163 (e.g.,applications 102, FIG. 1A) to and from the remote host server 111 incarrying out the extended caching techniques discussed in, for example,FIG. 1A and FIGS. 4A-5B.

Traffic Recognizer 122: The traffic recognizer 122 analyzes all trafficbetween the wireless device applications 163 and their respective hostservers in order to identify recurrent patterns. Supported transportprotocols include, for example, DNS, HTTP and HTTPS, such that trafficthrough those ports is directed to the client side proxy 175. Whileanalyzing traffic, the client side proxy 175 can identify recurringpolling patterns which can be candidates to be performed remotely by theserver side proxy 125, and send to the protocol optimizer 123.

Protocol Optimizer 123: The protocol optimizer 123 can implement thelogic of serving recurrent request from the local cache 185 instead ofallowing those request go over the network to the serviceprovider/application host server. One is its tasks is to eliminate orminimize the need to send requests to the network, positively affectingnetwork congestion and device battery life.

Local Cache 185: The local cache 185 can store responses to recurrentrequests, and can be used by the Protocol Optimizer 123 to sendresponses to the applications 163.

Traffic Scheduler 124: The traffic scheduler 124 can temporally movecommunications to optimize usage of device resources by unifyingkeep-alive signaling so that some or all of the different applications163 can send keep-alive messages at the same time (traffic pipelining).Traffic scheduler 124 may also decide to delay transmission of data thatis not relevant at a given time (for example, when the device is notactively used).

Policy Manager 120: The policy manager 120 can store and enforce trafficoptimization and reporting policies provisioned by a Policy ManagementServer (PMS). At the client side proxy 175 first start, trafficoptimization and reporting policies (policy profiles) that is to beenforced in a particular device can be provisioned by the PolicyManagement Server.

Watch Dog 127: The watch dog 127 can monitor the client side proxy 175operating availability. In case the client side proxy 175 is not workingdue to a failure or because it has been disabled, the watchdog 127 canreset DNS routing rules information and can restore original DNSsettings for the device to continue working until the client side proxy175 service is restored.

Reporting Agent 126: The reporting agent 126 can gather informationabout the events taking place in the device and sends the information tothe Reporting Server. Event details are stored temporarily in the deviceand transferred to reporting server only when the data channel state isactive. If the client side proxy 175 doesn't send records withintwenty-four hours, the reporting agent 126 may attempt to open theconnection and send recorded entries or, in case there are no entries instorage, an empty reporting packet. All reporting settings areconfigured in the policy management server.

Push Client 128: The push client 128 can be responsible for the trafficto between the server side proxy 125 and the client side proxy 175. Thepush client 128 can send out service requests like content updaterequests and policy update requests, and receives updates to thoserequests from the server side proxy 125. In addition, push client 128can send data to a reporting server (e.g., the reporting and/or usageanalytics system which may be internal to or external to the server sideproxy 125).

The proxy server 199 has a wide variety of uses, from speeding up a webserver by caching repeated requests, to caching web, DNS and othernetwork lookups for a group of clients sharing network resources. Theproxy server 199 is optional. The distributed proxy and cache system(125 and/or 175) allows for a flexible proxy configuration using eitherthe proxy 199, additional proxy(s) in operator's network, or integratingboth proxies 199 and an operator's or other third-party's proxy.

FIG. 1F illustrates a diagram of the example components on the serverside of the distributed proxy and cache system.

The server side 125 of the distributed system can include, for example arelay server 142, which interacts with a traffic harmonizer 144, apolling server 145 and/or a policy management server 143. Each of thevarious components can communicate with the client side proxy 175, orother third party (e.g., application server/service provider 110 and/orother proxy 199) and/or a reporting and usage analytics system. Someexample components of the server side proxy 125 is described as follows:

Relay Server 142: The relay server 142 is the routing agent in thedistributed proxy architecture. The relay server 142 manages connectionsand communications with components on the client-side proxy 175installed on devices and provides an administrative interface forreports, provisioning, platform setup, and so on.

Extended Caching Optimization Manager 179: Similar to what are mentionedwith regard to FIG. 1A, the optimization manager 179 can perform, inconjunction with the optimization engine 177 (FIG. 1E), signaloptimization techniques, and more specifically, extended cachingtechniques with configurable parameters as disclosed herein. In someembodiments, such as the one shown in FIG. 1F, the optimization manager179 is coupled to the relay server 142 to receive relevant connectionand communication information for performing the extended caching. Amongothers, the optimization manager 179 is also coupled to server cache 135in carrying out the extended caching.

Notification Server 141: The notification server 141 is a module able toconnect to an operator's SMSC gateways and deliver SMS notifications tothe client-side proxy 175. SMS notifications can be used when an IP linkis not currently active, in order to avoid the client-side proxy 175from activating a connection over the wireless data channel, thusavoiding additional signaling traffic. However, if the IP connectionhappens to be open for some other traffic, the notification server 141can use it for sending the notifications to the client-side proxy 175. Auser database 146 can store operational data including endpoint(MSISDN), organization and Notification server 141 gateway for eachresource (URIs or URLs).

Traffic Harmonizer 144: The traffic harmonizer 144 can be responsiblefor communication between the client-side proxy 175 and the pollingserver 145. The traffic harmonizer 144 connects to the polling server145 directly or through the data storage 130, and to the client over anyopen or proprietary protocol such as the 7TP, implemented for trafficoptimization. The traffic harmonizer 144 can be also responsible fortraffic pipelining on the server side: if there's cached content in thedatabase for the same client, this can be sent over to the client in onemessage.

Polling Server 145: The polling server 145 can poll third partyapplication servers on behalf of applications that are being optimized).If a change occurs (i.e. new data available) for an application, thepolling server 145 can report to the traffic harmonizer 144 which inturn sends a notification message to the client-side proxy 175 for it toclear the cache and allow application to poll application serverdirectly.

Policy Management Server 143: The policy management server (PMS) 143allows administrators to configure and store policies for theclient-side proxies 175 (device clients). It also allows administratorsto notify the client-side proxies 175 about policy changes. Using thepolicy management server 143, each operator can configure the policiesto work in the most efficient way for the unique characteristics of eachparticular mobile operator's network. In one embodiment, PMS 143 mayinclude a policy management server database 147 for storing policies andother information.

Reporting and Usage Analytics Component: The Reporting and UsageAnalytics component or system collects information from the client side175 and/or from the server side 125, and provides the tools forproducing reports and usage analytics that operators can use foranalyzing application signaling and data consumption.

Most mobile applications regularly poll their application servers tocheck for new data. Often there is no new data or the content has notchanged, so the exchange of data through the mobile network isunnecessary. As the number of mobile phones and their applicationsincrease, the amount of this needless polling grows. Since applicationsare not coordinated and poll at different times and intervals, any givenphone may frequently generate signal traffic. This causes multipleunnecessary radio activations, consuming power and shortening batterylife.

In one embodiment, the signaling optimizer reduces network requests to aminimum by caching content in the client and letting its own server pollfor changes in the network. When a mobile phone's client side proxy(e.g., local proxy) 175 detects a recurring pattern for a resource, suchas an email application, its response content is stored locally in aclient cache so similar requests from that application get theirresponse from the local cache, rather than signaling the network.

In another embodiment, systems and methods of intelligent alarm trackerand resource manipulator can be used to reduce network requests byconsolidating or changing the timing of requests such that use ofresources including network, battery, CPU, memory and the like can bereduced.

In some embodiments, features of the signaling optimizer and theintelligent alarm tracker and resource manipulator may be used togetherto obtain reduce resource usage by mobile applications on a mobiledevice.

FIG. 1G illustrates an example diagram of a signaling optimizer of thedistributed proxy and cache system.

As an example, someone who typically gets only 10 emails a day may havephone's email application poll the network for new email every 15minutes, or 96 times a day, with around 90% or more of the pollsresulting in the same response: there are no new emails. The client sideproxy (e.g., local proxy) 175 can recognize this request—responsepattern, and intercepts the application's poll requests, returning thelocally cached response of “no new emails”. This way the device radio isnot turned on by this particular application, and the poll doesn't useany network resources. The server (e.g., host server 100, proxy server125), located in the network, can monitor the email application serveron behalf of the user's email application. When new email is available,the server can notify the user's client side proxy 175 to not use thecached “no new emails” response for the next poll request. Instead ofgoing to the local client cache, the email application polls itsapplication server over the network and receives the new content.

The signaling optimizer can be configured and managed using differentrule sets for different device types, user types, wireless networks, andapplications. Optimization rules can be updated at any time, so thechanges can be applied immediately when an application upgrades orchanges happen in the mobile network. The protocols that can beoptimized include, but are not limited to: HTTP, HTTPS and DNS.

FIG. 1H illustrates an example diagram of an example client-serverarchitecture of the distributed proxy and cache system.

In the client-server architecture, the client side proxy 175 (e.g.,local proxy) is residing on the mobile or client devices. The clientside proxy 175 can communicate both directly to the Internet (usuallyvia an operator proxy) and to the server side proxy (e.g., proxy server)125, or the host server 100. The proxy server 125 communicates to theInternet and to the operator's SMSC 114.

As depicted, the client side proxy 175 can send a request directly tothe Internet. This can happen after requests have been analyzed todetect optimizable patterns, for example. The client side proxy 175 can,in one implementation, send a request to the server (e.g., host server100, proxy server 125), for example, to initiate server polling, toreports logs or to get new configuration. The proxy server 125 can senda request to the Internet to, for example, validate cached content. Inone implementation, the proxy server 125 can send a request to the SMSC114, for example, to send a cache invalidate message or policy updatemessage to the client-side proxy 175.

In one implementation, the client side proxy 175 may not maintain anopen connection with the proxy server 125, but may connect to the proxyserver 125 only in case there's a need to start polling an origin server110, to report logs or to get new configuration. For signaling optimizerfeature, the proxy server 125 can notify the client side proxy 175 whenthe content, that has been polled, has changed. The proxy server 125 cansend a request to invalidate cache in the client side proxy 125. Whenthe application connects to that particular origin server (e.g., contentserver 110) the next time, it can first fetch the latest content fromthe proxy server 125 and then directly connect to the origin server 110.For the policy enforcer and/or the network protector features, the proxyserver 125 can notify the client side proxy 175 when there's newconfiguration to be fetched from the server. When the proxy server 125needs to communicate with the client side proxy 175, it can use aconnection that is already open for some other request. If theconnection is not open, the proxy server 125 can send a notification(e.g., SMS) to the client side proxy 175.

FIG. 1I depicts an example diagram illustrating data flows betweenexample client side components in a distributed proxy and cache system.Traffic from applications (e.g., App1, App2, App3 to AppN), client sideproxy (e.g., local proxy) 175, IP Routing Tables (e.g., in the AndroidOperating System Layer), Network Access Layer and Wireless Network aredepicted.

In one implementation, non-optimized application traffic flow, such astraffic from App1, can completely bypass the client side proxy 175components and proceed directly through the operating system layer(e.g., the Android OS layer) and Network Access Layer to the wirelessnetwork. Traffic that that is not optimized can include, but is notlimited to: rich media, like video and audio, as well as traffic fromnetworks and applications that has been configured to bypassoptimization and traffic pending optimization, and the like. In oneembodiment, all traffic can be configured to bypass the clientside/server side proxy.

In another implementation, optimized application traffic, such astraffic from App2, can be redirected from the application to the clientside proxy 175. By default, this can be traffic on ports 80 (HTTP) and53 (DNS), and selected traffic on port 443 (HTTPS), for example.However, traffic to other ports can be configured to be directed to theclient side proxy.

In yet another implementation, traffic flow can be between the clientside proxy 175 and the origin servers (e.g., content server 110) via theInternet and/or between the client side proxy 175 and the server sideproxy (e.g., proxy server) 125.

FIG. 2A depicts a block diagram illustrating an example of client-sidecomponents in a distributed proxy and cache system residing on a mobiledevice (e.g., wireless device) 250 that manages traffic in a wirelessnetwork (or broadband network) for resource conservation, contentcaching, traffic management, and/or signal optimization includingextended caching optimization. The client-side proxy (or local proxy275) can further categorize mobile traffic and/or implement deliverypolicies based on application behavior, content priority, user activity,and/or user expectations.

The device 250, which can be a portable or mobile device (e.g., anywireless device), such as a portable phone, generally includes, forexample, a network interface 208 an operating system 204, a context API206, and mobile applications which may be proxy-unaware 210 orproxy-aware 220. Note that the device 250 is specifically illustrated inthe example of FIG. 2 as a mobile device, such is not a limitation andthat device 250 may be any wireless, broadband, portable/mobile ornon-portable device able to receive, transmit signals to satisfy datarequests over a network including wired or wireless networks (e.g.,WiFi, cellular, Bluetooth, LAN, WAN, etc.).

The network interface 208 can be a networking module that enables thedevice 250 to mediate data in a network with an entity that is externalto the host server 250, through any known and/or convenientcommunications protocol supported by the host and the external entity.The network interface 208 can include one or more of a network adaptorcard, a wireless network interface card (e.g., SMS interface, WiFiinterface, interfaces for various generations of mobile communicationstandards including but not limited to 2G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, LTE, etc.,),Bluetooth, or whether or not the connection is via a router, an accesspoint, a wireless router, a switch, a multilayer switch, a protocolconverter, a gateway, a bridge, a bridge router, a hub, a digital mediareceiver, and/or a repeater.

Device 250 can further include, client-side components of thedistributed proxy and cache system which can include, a local proxy 275(e.g., a mobile client of a mobile device) and a cache 285. In oneembodiment, the local proxy 275 includes a user activity module 215, aproxy API 225, a request/transaction manager 235, a caching policymanager 245 having an application protocol module 248, a traffic shapingengine 255, and/or a connection manager 265. The traffic shaping engine255 may further include an alignment module 256 and/or a batching module257, the connection manager 265 may further include a radio controller266. The request/transaction manager 235 can further include anapplication behavior detector 236 and/or a prioritization engine 241,the application behavior detector 236 may further include a patterndetector 237 and/or and application profile generator 239. Additional orless components/modules/engines can be included in the local proxy 275and each illustrated component.

As used herein, a “module,” “a manager,” a “handler,” a “detector,” an“interface,” a “controller,” a “normalizer,” a “generator,” an“invalidator,” or an “engine” includes a general purpose, dedicated orshared processor and, typically, firmware or software modules that areexecuted by the processor. Depending upon implementation-specific orother considerations, the module, manager, handler, detector, interface,controller, normalizer, generator, invalidator, or engine can becentralized or its functionality distributed. The module, manager,handler, detector, interface, controller, normalizer, generator,invalidator, or engine can include general or special purpose hardware,firmware, or software embodied in a computer-readable (storage) mediumfor execution by the processor.

As used herein, a computer-readable medium or computer-readable storagemedium is intended to include all mediums that are statutory (e.g., inthe United States, under 35 U.S.C. §101), and to specifically excludeall mediums that are non-statutory in nature to the extent that theexclusion is necessary for a claim that includes the computer-readable(storage) medium to be valid. Known statutory computer-readable mediumsinclude hardware (e.g., registers, random access memory (RAM),non-volatile (NV) storage, to name a few), but may or may not be limitedto hardware.

In one embodiment, a portion of the distributed proxy and cache systemfor network traffic management resides in or is in communication withdevice 250, including local proxy 275 (mobile client) and/or cache 285.The local proxy 275 can provide an interface on the device 250 for usersto access device applications and services including email, IM, voicemail, visual voicemail, feeds, Internet, games, productivity tools, orother applications, etc.

The proxy 275 is generally application independent and can be used byapplications (e.g., both proxy-aware and proxy-unaware applications 210and 220 and other mobile applications) to open TCP connections to aremote server (e.g., the server 100 in the examples of FIGS. 1B-1Cand/or server proxy 125/325 shown in the examples of FIG. 1B and FIG.3A). In some instances, the local proxy 275 includes a proxy API 225which can be optionally used to interface with proxy-aware applications220 (or applications (e.g., mobile applications) on a mobile device(e.g., any wireless device)).

The applications 210 and 220 can generally include any user application,widgets, software, HTTP-based application, web browsers, video or othermultimedia streaming or downloading application, video games, socialnetwork applications, email clients, RSS management applications,application stores, document management applications, productivityenhancement applications, etc. The applications can be provided with thedevice OS, by the device manufacturer, by the network service provider,downloaded by the user, or provided by others.

One embodiment of the local proxy 275 includes or is coupled to acontext API 206, as shown. The context API 206 may be a part of theoperating system 204 or device platform or independent of the operatingsystem 204, as illustrated. The operating system 204 can include anyoperating system including but not limited to, any previous, current,and/or future versions/releases of, Windows Mobile, iOS, Android,Symbian, Palm OS, Brew MP, Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME), Blackberry, etc.

The context API 206 may be a plug-in to the operating system 204 or aparticular client/application on the device 250. The context API 206 candetect signals indicative of user or device activity, for example,sensing motion, gesture, device location, changes in device location,device backlight, keystrokes, clicks, activated touch screen, mouseclick or detection of other pointer devices. The context API 206 can becoupled to input devices or sensors on the device 250 to identify thesesignals. Such signals can generally include input received in responseto explicit user input at an input device/mechanism at the device 250and/or collected from ambient signals/contextual cues detected at or inthe vicinity of the device 250 (e.g., light, motion, piezoelectric,etc.).

In one embodiment, the user activity module 215 interacts with thecontext API 206 to identify, determine, infer, detect, compute, predict,and/or anticipate, characteristics of user activity on the device 250.Various inputs collected by the context API 206 can be aggregated by theuser activity module 215 to generate a profile for characteristics ofuser activity. Such a profile can be generated by the user activitymodule 215 with various temporal characteristics. For instance, useractivity profile can be generated in real-time for a given instant toprovide a view of what the user is doing or not doing at a given time(e.g., defined by a time window, in the last minute, in the last 30seconds, etc.), a user activity profile can also be generated for a‘session’ defined by an application or web page that describes thecharacteristics of user behavior with respect to a specific task theyare engaged in on the device 250, or for a specific time period (e.g.,for the last 2 hours, for the last 5 hours).

Additionally, characteristic profiles can be generated by the useractivity module 215 to depict a historical trend for user activity andbehavior (e.g., 1 week, 1 mo., 2 mo., etc.). Such historical profilescan also be used to deduce trends of user behavior, for example, accessfrequency at different times of day, trends for certain days of the week(weekends or week days), user activity trends based on location data(e.g., IP address, GPS, or cell tower coordinate data) or changes inlocation data (e.g., user activity based on user location, or useractivity based on whether the user is on the go, or traveling outside ahome region, etc.) to obtain user activity characteristics.

In one embodiment, user activity module 215 can detect and track useractivity with respect to applications, documents, files, windows, icons,and folders on the device 250. For example, the user activity module 215can detect when an application or window (e.g., a web browser or anyother type of application) has been exited, closed, minimized,maximized, opened, moved into the foreground, or into the background,multimedia content playback, etc.

In one embodiment, characteristics of the user activity on the device250 can be used to locally adjust behavior of the device (e.g., mobiledevice or any wireless device) to optimize its resource consumption suchas battery/power consumption and more generally, consumption of otherdevice resources including memory, storage, and processing power. In oneembodiment, the use of a radio on a device can be adjusted based oncharacteristics of user behavior (e.g., by the radio controller 266 ofthe connection manager 265) coupled to the user activity module 215. Forexample, the radio controller 266 can turn the radio on or off, based oncharacteristics of the user activity on the device 250. In addition, theradio controller 266 can adjust the power mode of the radio (e.g., to bein a higher power mode or lower power mode) depending on characteristicsof user activity.

In one embodiment, characteristics of the user activity on device 250can also be used to cause another device (e.g., other computers, amobile device, a wireless device, or a non-portable device) or server(e.g., host server 100 and 300 in the examples of FIGS. 1B-C and FIG.3A) which can communicate (e.g., via a cellular or other network) withthe device 250 to modify its communication frequency with the device250. The local proxy 275 can use the characteristics information of userbehavior determined by the user activity module 215 to instruct theremote device as to how to modulate its communication frequency (e.g.,decreasing communication frequency, such as data push frequency if theuser is idle, requesting that the remote device notify the device 250 ifnew data, changed, data, or data of a certain level of importancebecomes available, etc.).

In one embodiment, the user activity module 215 can, in response todetermining that user activity characteristics indicate that a user isactive after a period of inactivity, request that a remote device (e.g.,server host server 100 and 300 in the examples of FIGS. 1B-C and FIG.3A) send the data that was buffered as a result of the previouslydecreased communication frequency.

In addition, or in alternative, the local proxy 275 can communicate thecharacteristics of user activity at the device 250 to the remote device(e.g., host server 100 and 300 in the examples of FIGS. 1B-C and FIG.3A) and the remote device determines how to alter its own communicationfrequency with the device 250 for network resource conservation andconservation of device 250 resources.

One embodiment of the local proxy 275 further includes arequest/transaction manager 235, which can detect, identify, intercept,process, manage, data requests initiated on the device 250, for example,by applications 210 and/or 220, and/or directly/indirectly by a userrequest. The request/transaction manager 235 can determine how and whento process a given request or transaction, or a set ofrequests/transactions, based on transaction characteristics.

The request/transaction manager 235 can prioritize requests ortransactions made by applications and/or users at the device 250, forexample by the prioritization engine 241. Importance or priority ofrequests/transactions can be determined by the request/transactionmanager 235 by applying a rule set, for example, according to timesensitivity of the transaction, time sensitivity of the content in thetransaction, time criticality of the transaction, time criticality ofthe data transmitted in the transaction, and/or time criticality orimportance of an application making the request.

In addition, transaction characteristics can also depend on whether thetransaction was a result of user-interaction or other user-initiatedaction on the device (e.g., user interaction with a application (e.g., amobile application)). In general, a time critical transaction caninclude a transaction resulting from a user-initiated data transfer, andcan be prioritized as such. Transaction characteristics can also dependon the amount of data that will be transferred or is anticipated to betransferred as a result of the requested transaction. For example, theconnection manager 265, can adjust the radio mode (e.g., high power orlow power mode via the radio controller 266) based on the amount of datathat will need to be transferred.

In addition, the radio controller 266/connection manager 265 can adjustthe radio power mode (high or low) based on time criticality/sensitivityof the transaction. The radio controller 266 can trigger the use of highpower radio mode when a time-critical transaction (e.g., a transactionresulting from a user-initiated data transfer, an application running inthe foreground, any other event meeting a certain criteria) is initiatedor detected.

In general, the priorities can be set by default, for example, based ondevice platform, device manufacturer, operating system, etc. Prioritiescan alternatively or in additionally be set by the particularapplication; for example, the Facebook application (e.g., a mobileapplication) can set its own priorities for various transactions (e.g.,a status update can be of higher priority than an add friend request ora poke request, a message send request can be of higher priority than amessage delete request, for example), an email client or IM chat clientmay have its own configurations for priority. The prioritization engine241 may include set of rules for assigning priority.

The prioritization engine 241 can also track network providerlimitations or specifications on application or transaction priority indetermining an overall priority status for a request/transaction.Furthermore, priority can in part or in whole be determined by userpreferences, either explicit or implicit. A user, can in general, setpriorities at different tiers, such as, specific priorities forsessions, or types, or applications (e.g., a browsing session, a gamingsession, versus an IM chat session, the user may set a gaming session toalways have higher priority than an IM chat session, which may havehigher priority than web-browsing session). A user can setapplication-specific priorities, (e.g., a user may set Facebook-relatedtransactions to have a higher priority than LinkedIn-relatedtransactions), for specific transaction types (e.g., for all sendmessage requests across all applications to have higher priority thanmessage delete requests, for all calendar-related events to have a highpriority, etc.), and/or for specific folders.

The prioritization engine 241 can track and resolve conflicts inpriorities set by different entities. For example, manual settingsspecified by the user may take precedence over device OS settings,network provider parameters/limitations (e.g., set in default for anetwork service area, geographic locale, set for a specific time of day,or set based on service/fee type) may limit any user-specified settingsand/or application-set priorities. In some instances, a manualsynchronization request received from a user can override some, most, orall priority settings in that the requested synchronization is performedwhen requested, regardless of the individually assigned priority or anoverall priority ranking for the requested action.

Priority can be specified and tracked internally in any known and/orconvenient manner, including but not limited to, a binaryrepresentation, a multi-valued representation, a graded representationand all are considered to be within the scope of the disclosedtechnology.

TABLE 1 Change Change (initiated on device) Priority (initiated onserver) Priority Send email High Receive email High Delete email LowEdit email Often not (Un)read email Low possible to sync (Low ifpossible) Move message Low New email in deleted Low Read more High itemsDownload High Delete an email Low attachment (Un)Read an email Low NewCalendar event High Move messages Low Edit/change Calendar High Anycalendar change High event Any contact change High Add a contact HighWipe/lock device High Edit a contact High Settings change High Searchcontacts High Any folder change High Change a setting High Connectorrestart High (if no Manual send/receive High changes nothing is sent) IMstatus change Medium Social Network Medium Status Updates Auction outbidor High Severe Weather High change notification Alerts Weather UpdatesLow News Updates Low

Table I above shows, for illustration purposes, some examples oftransactions with examples of assigned priorities in a binaryrepresentation scheme. Additional assignments are possible foradditional types of events, requests, transactions, and as previouslydescribed, priority assignments can be made at more or less granularlevels, e.g., at the session level or at the application level, etc.

As shown by way of example in the above table, in general, lowerpriority requests/transactions can include, updating message status asbeing read, unread, deleting of messages, deletion of contacts; higherpriority requests/transactions, can in some instances include, statusupdates, new IM chat message, new email, calendar eventupdate/cancellation/deletion, an event in a mobile gaming session, orother entertainment related events, a purchase confirmation through aweb purchase or online, request to load additional or download content,contact book related events, a transaction to change a device setting,location-aware or location-based events/transactions, or any otherevents/request/transactions initiated by a user or where the user isknown to be, expected to be, or suspected to be waiting for a response,etc.

Inbox pruning events (e.g., email, or any other types of messages), aregenerally considered low priority and absent other impending events,generally will not trigger use of the radio on the device 250.Specifically, pruning events to remove old email or other content can be‘piggy backed’ with other communications if the radio is not otherwiseon, at the time of a scheduled pruning event. For example, if the userhas preferences set to ‘keep messages for 7 days old,’ then instead ofpowering on the device radio to initiate a message delete from thedevice 250 the moment that the message has exceeded 7 days old, themessage is deleted when the radio is powered on next. If the radio isalready on, then pruning may occur as regularly scheduled.

The request/transaction manager 235, can use the priorities for requests(e.g., by the prioritization engine 241) to manage outgoing traffic fromthe device 250 for resource optimization (e.g., to utilize the deviceradio more efficiently for battery conservation). For example,transactions/requests below a certain priority ranking may not triggeruse of the radio on the device 250 if the radio is not already switchedon, as controlled by the connection manager 265. In contrast, the radiocontroller 266 can turn on the radio such a request can be sent when arequest for a transaction is detected to be over a certain prioritylevel.

In one embodiment, priority assignments (such as that determined by thelocal proxy 275 or another device/entity) can be used cause a remotedevice to modify its communication with the frequency with the mobiledevice or wireless device. For example, the remote device can beconfigured to send notifications to the device 250 when data of higherimportance is available to be sent to the mobile device or wirelessdevice.

In one embodiment, transaction priority can be used in conjunction withcharacteristics of user activity in shaping or managing traffic, forexample, by the traffic shaping engine 255. For example, the trafficshaping engine 255 can, in response to detecting that a user is dormantor inactive, wait to send low priority transactions from the device 250,for a period of time. In addition, the traffic shaping engine 255 canallow multiple low priority transactions to accumulate for batchtransferring from the device 250 (e.g., via the batching module 257). Inone embodiment, the priorities can be set, configured, or readjusted bya user. For example, content depicted in Table I in the same or similarform can be accessible in a user interface on the device 250 and forexample, used by the user to adjust or view the priorities.

The batching module 257 can initiate batch transfer based on certaincriteria. For example, batch transfer (e.g., of multiple occurrences ofevents, some of which occurred at different instances in time) may occurafter a certain number of low priority events have been detected, orafter an amount of time elapsed after the first of the low priorityevent was initiated. In addition, the batching module 257 can initiatebatch transfer of the cumulated low priority events when a higherpriority event is initiated or detected at the device 250. Batchtransfer can otherwise be initiated when radio use is triggered foranother reason (e.g., to receive data from a remote device such as hostserver 100 or 300). In one embodiment, an impending pruning event(pruning of an inbox), or any other low priority events, can be executedwhen a batch transfer occurs.

In general, the batching capability can be disabled or enabled at theevent/transaction level, application level, or session level, based onany one or combination of the following: user configuration, devicelimitations/settings, manufacturer specification, network providerparameters/limitations, platform-specific limitations/settings, deviceOS settings, etc. In one embodiment, batch transfer can be initiatedwhen an application/window/file is closed out, exited, or moved into thebackground; users can optionally be prompted before initiating a batchtransfer; users can also manually trigger batch transfers.

In one embodiment, the local proxy 275 locally adjusts radio use on thedevice 250 by caching data in the cache 285. When requests ortransactions from the device 250 can be satisfied by content stored inthe cache 285, the radio controller 266 need not activate the radio tosend the request to a remote entity (e.g., the host server 100, 300, asshown in FIG. 1B and FIG. 3A or a content provider/application serversuch as the server/provider 110 shown in the examples of FIG. 1B andFIG. 1C). As such, the local proxy 275 can use the local cache 285 andthe cache policy manager 245 to locally store data for satisfying datarequests to eliminate or reduce the use of the device radio forconservation of network resources and device battery consumption.

In leveraging the local cache, once the request/transaction manager 225intercepts a data request by an application on the device 250, the localrepository 285 can be queried to determine if there is any locallystored response, and also determine whether the response is valid. Whena valid response is available in the local cache 285, the response canbe provided to the application on the device 250 without the device 250needing to access the cellular network or wireless broadband network.

If a valid response is not available, the local proxy 275 can query aremote proxy (e.g., the server proxy 325 of FIG. 3A) to determinewhether a remotely stored response is valid. If so, the remotely storedresponse (e.g., which may be stored on the server cache 135 or optionalcaching server 199 shown in the example of FIG. 1C) can be provided tothe mobile device, possibly without the mobile device 250 needing toaccess the cellular network, thus relieving consumption of networkresources.

If a valid cache response is not available, or if cache responses areunavailable for the intercepted data request, the local proxy 275, forexample, the caching policy manager 245, can send the data request to aremote proxy (e.g., server proxy 325 of FIG. 3A) which forwards the datarequest to a content source (e.g., application server/content provider110 of FIG. 1B) and a response from the content source can be providedthrough the remote proxy, as will be further described in thedescription associated with the example host server 300 of FIG. 3A. Thecache policy manager 245 can manage or process requests that use avariety of protocols, including but not limited to HTTP, HTTPS, IMAP,POP, SMTP, XMPP, and/or ActiveSync. The caching policy manager 245 canlocally store responses for data requests in the local database 285 ascache entries, for subsequent use in satisfying same or similar datarequests.

The caching policy manager 245 can request that the remote proxy monitorresponses for the data request and the remote proxy can notify thedevice 250 when an unexpected response to the data request is detected.In such an event, the cache policy manager 245 can erase or replace thelocally stored response(s) on the device 250 when notified of theunexpected response (e.g., new data, changed data, additional data,etc.) to the data request. In one embodiment, the caching policy manager245 is able to detect or identify the protocol used for a specificrequest, including but not limited to HTTP, HTTPS, IMAP, POP, SMTP,XMPP, and/or ActiveSync. In one embodiment, application specifichandlers (e.g., via the application protocol module 246 of the cachingpolicy manager 245) on the local proxy 275 allows for optimization ofany protocol that can be port mapped to a handler in the distributedproxy (e.g., port mapped on the proxy server 325 in the example of FIG.3A).

In one embodiment, the local proxy 275 notifies the remote proxy suchthat the remote proxy can monitor responses received for the datarequest from the content source for changed results prior to returningthe result to the device 250, for example, when the data request to thecontent source has yielded same results to be returned to the mobiledevice. In general, the local proxy 275 can simulate application serverresponses for applications on the device 250, using locally cachedcontent. This can prevent utilization of the cellular network fortransactions where new/changed data is not available, thus freeing upnetwork resources and preventing network congestion.

In one embodiment, the local proxy 275 includes an application behaviordetector 236 to track, detect, observe, monitor, applications (e.g.,proxy-aware and/or unaware applications 210 and 220) accessed orinstalled on the device 250. Application behaviors, or patterns indetected behaviors (e.g., via the pattern detector 237) of one or moreapplications accessed on the device 250 can be used by the local proxy275 to optimize traffic in a wireless network needed to satisfy the dataneeds of these applications.

For example, based on detected behavior of multiple applications, thetraffic shaping engine 255 can align content requests made by at leastsome of the applications over the network (wireless network) (e.g., viathe alignment module 256). The alignment module 256 can delay orexpedite some earlier received requests to achieve alignment. Whenrequests are aligned, the traffic shaping engine 255 can utilize theconnection manager to poll over the network to satisfy application datarequests. Content requests for multiple applications can be alignedbased on behavior patterns or rules/settings including, for example,content types requested by the multiple applications (audio, video,text, etc.), device (e.g., mobile or wireless device) parameters, and/ornetwork parameters/traffic conditions, network service providerconstraints/specifications, etc.

In one embodiment, the pattern detector 237 can detect recurrences inapplication requests made by the multiple applications, for example, bytracking patterns in application behavior. A tracked pattern caninclude, detecting that certain applications, as a background process,poll an application server regularly, at certain times of day, oncertain days of the week, periodically in a predictable fashion, with acertain frequency, with a certain frequency in response to a certaintype of event, in response to a certain type user query, frequency thatrequested content is the same, frequency with which a same request ismade, interval between requests, applications making a request, or anycombination of the above, for example.

Such recurrences can be used by traffic shaping engine 255 to offloadpolling of content from a content source (e.g., from an applicationserver/content provider 110 of FIG. 1A) that would result from theapplication requests that would be performed at the mobile device orwireless device 250 to be performed instead, by a proxy server (e.g.,proxy server 125 of FIG. 1C or proxy server 325 of FIG. 3A) remote fromthe device 250. Traffic shaping engine 255 can decide to offload thepolling when the recurrences match a rule. For example, there aremultiple occurrences or requests for the same resource that have exactlythe same content, or returned value, or based on detection of repeatabletime periods between requests and responses such as a resource that isrequested at specific times during the day. The offloading of thepolling can decrease the amount of bandwidth consumption needed by themobile device 250 to establish a wireless (cellular or other wirelessbroadband) connection with the content source for repetitive contentpolls.

As a result of the offloading of the polling, locally cached contentstored in the local cache 285 can be provided to satisfy data requestsat the device 250, when content change is not detected in the polling ofthe content sources. As such, when data has not changed, applicationdata needs can be satisfied without needing to enable radio use oroccupying cellular bandwidth in a wireless network. When data haschanged and/or new data has been received, the remote entity to whichpolling is offloaded, can notify the device 250. The remote entity maybe the host server 300 as shown in the example of FIG. 3A.

In one embodiment, the local proxy 275 can mitigate the need/use ofperiodic keep-alive messages (heartbeat messages) to maintain TCP/IPconnections, which can consume significant amounts of power thus havingdetrimental impacts on mobile device battery life. The connectionmanager 265 in the local proxy (e.g., the heartbeat manager 267) candetect, identify, and intercept any or all heartbeat (keep-alive)messages being sent from applications.

The heartbeat manager 267 can prevent any or all of these heartbeatmessages from being sent over the cellular, or other network, andinstead rely on the server component of the distributed proxy system(e.g., shown in FIG. 1C) to generate and send the heartbeat messages tomaintain a connection with the backend (e.g., applicationserver/provider 110 in the example of FIG. 1A).

The local proxy 275 generally represents any one or a portion of thefunctions described for the individual managers, modules, and/orengines. The local proxy 275 and device 250 can include additional orless components; more or less functions can be included, in whole or inpart, without deviating from the novel art of the disclosure.

FIG. 2B depicts a block diagram illustrating a further example ofcomponents in the cache system shown in the example of FIG. 2A which iscapable of caching and adapting caching strategies for mobileapplication behavior and/or network conditions.

In one embodiment, the caching policy manager 245 includes a metadatagenerator 203, a cache look-up engine 205, a cache appropriatenessdecision engine 246, a poll schedule generator 247, an applicationprotocol module 248, a cache or connect selection engine 249 and/or alocal cache invalidator 244. The cache appropriateness decision engine246 can further include a timing predictor 246 a, a content predictor246 b, a request analyzer 246 c, and/or a response analyzer 246 d, andthe cache or connect selection engine 249 includes a response scheduler249 a. The metadata generator 203 and/or the cache look-up engine 205are coupled to the cache 285 (or local cache) for modification oraddition to cache entries or querying thereof.

The cache look-up engine 205 may further include an ID or URI filter 205a, the local cache invalidator 244 may further include a TTL manager 244a, and the poll schedule generator 247 may further include a scheduleupdate engine 247 a and/or a time adjustment engine 247 b. Oneembodiment of caching policy manager 245 includes an application cachepolicy repository 243. In one embodiment, the application behaviordetector 236 includes a pattern detector 237, a poll interval detector238, an application profile generator 239, and/or a priority engine 241.The poll interval detector 238 may further include a long poll detector238 a having a response/request tracking engine 238 b. The poll intervaldetector 238 may further include a long poll hunting detector 238 c. Theapplication profile generator 239 can further include a response delayinterval tracker 239 a.

The pattern detector 237, application profile generator 239, and thepriority engine 241 were also described in association with thedescription of the pattern detector shown in the example of FIG. 2A. Oneembodiment further includes an application profile repository 242 whichcan be used by the local proxy 275 to store information or metadataregarding application profiles (e.g., behavior, patterns, type of HTTPrequests, etc.)

The cache appropriateness decision engine 246 can detect, assess, ordetermine whether content from a content source (e.g., applicationserver/content provider 110 in the example of FIG. 1B) with which amobile device 250 interacts and has content that may be suitable forcaching. For example, the decision engine 246 can use information abouta request and/or a response received for the request initiated at themobile device 250 to determine cacheability, potential cacheability, ornon-cacheability. In some instances, the decision engine 246 caninitially verify whether a request is directed to a blacklisteddestination or whether the request itself originates from a blacklistedclient or application. If so, additional processing and analysis may notbe performed by the decision engine 246 and the request may be allowedto be sent over the air to the server to satisfy the request. The blacklisted destinations or applications/clients (e.g., mobile applications)can be maintained locally in the local proxy (e.g., in the applicationprofile repository 242) or remotely (e.g., in the proxy server 325 oranother entity).

In one embodiment, the decision engine 246, for example, via the requestanalyzer 246 c, collects information about an application or clientrequest generated at the mobile device 250. The request information caninclude request characteristics information including, for example,request method. For example, the request method can indicate the type ofHTTP request generated by the mobile application or client. In oneembodiment, response to a request can be identified as cacheable orpotentially cacheable if the request method is a GET request or POSTrequest. Other types of requests (e.g., OPTIONS, HEAD, PUT, DELETE,TRACE, or CONNECT) may or may not be cached. In general, HTTP requestswith uncacheable request methods will not be cached.

Request characteristics information can further include informationregarding request size, for example. Responses to requests (e.g., HTTPrequests) with body size exceeding a certain size will not be cached.For example, cacheability can be determined if the information about therequest indicates that a request body size of the request does notexceed a certain size. In some instances, the maximum cacheable requestbody size can be set to 8092 bytes. In other instances, different valuesmay be used, dependent on network capacity or network operator specificsettings, for example.

In some instances, content from a given application server/contentprovider (e.g., the server/content provider 110 of FIG. 1C) isdetermined to be suitable for caching based on a set of criteria, forexample, criteria specifying time criticality of the content that isbeing requested from the content source. In one embodiment, the localproxy (e.g., the local proxy 175 or 275 of FIG. 1C and FIG. 2A) appliesa selection criteria to store the content from the host server which isrequested by an application as cached elements in a local cache on themobile device to satisfy subsequent requests made by the application.

The cache appropriateness decision engine 246, further based on detectedpatterns of requests sent from the mobile device 250 (e.g., by a mobileapplication or other types of clients on the device 250) and/or patternsof received responses, can detect predictability in requests and/orresponses. For example, the request characteristics informationcollected by the decision engine 246, (e.g., the request analyzer 246 c)can further include periodicity information between a request and otherrequests generated by a same client on the mobile device or otherrequests directed to the same host (e.g., with similar or sameidentifier parameters).

Periodicity can be detected, by the decision engine 246 or the requestanalyzer 246 c, when the request and the other requests generated by thesame client occur at a fixed rate or nearly fixed rate, or at a dynamicrate with some identifiable or partially or wholly reproducible changingpattern. If the requests are made with some identifiable pattern (e.g.,regular intervals, intervals having a detectable pattern, or trend(e.g., increasing, decreasing, constant, etc.) the timing predictor 246a can determine that the requests made by a given application on adevice is predictable and identify it to be potentially appropriate forcaching, at least from a timing standpoint.

An identifiable pattern or trend can generally include any applicationor client behavior which may be simulated either locally, for example,on the local proxy 275 on the mobile device 250 or simulated remotely,for example, by the proxy server 325 on the host 300, or a combinationof local and remote simulation to emulate application behavior.

In one embodiment, the decision engine 246, for example, via theresponse analyzer 246 d, can collect information about a response to anapplication or client request generated at the mobile device 250. Theresponse is typically received from a server or the host of theapplication (e.g., mobile application) or client which sent the requestat the mobile device 250. In some instances, the mobile client orapplication can be the mobile version of an application (e.g., socialnetworking, search, travel management, voicemail, contact manager,email) or a web site accessed via a web browser or via a desktop client.

For example, response characteristics information can include anindication of whether transfer encoding or chunked transfer encoding isused in sending the response. In some instances, responses to HTTPrequests with transfer encoding or chunked transfer encoding are notcached, and therefore are also removed from further analysis. Therationale here is that chunked responses are usually large andnon-optimal for caching, since the processing of these transactions maylikely slow down the overall performance. Therefore, in one embodiment,cacheability or potential for cacheability can be determined whentransfer encoding is not used in sending the response.

In addition, the response characteristics information can include anassociated status code of the response which can be identified by theresponse analyzer 246 d. In some instances, HTTP responses withuncacheable status codes are typically not cached. The response analyzer246 d can extract the status code from the response and determinewhether it matches a status code which is cacheable or uncacheable. Somecacheable status codes include by way of example: 200—OK, 301—Redirect,302—Found, 303—See other, 304—Not Modified, 307 Temporary Redirect, or500—Internal server error. Some uncacheable status codes can include,for example, 403—Forbidden or 404—Not found.

In one embodiment, cacheability or potential for cacheability can bedetermined if the information about the response does not indicate anuncacheable status code or indicates a cacheable status code. If theresponse analyzer 246 d detects an uncacheable status code associatedwith a given response, the specific transaction (request/response pair)may be eliminated from further processing and determined to beuncacheable on a temporary basis, a semi-permanent, or a permanentbasis. If the status code indicates cacheability, the transaction (e.g.,request and/or response pair) may be subject to further processing andanalysis to confirm cacheability.

Response characteristics information can also include response sizeinformation. In general, responses can be cached locally at the mobiledevice 250 if the responses do not exceed a certain size. In someinstances, the default maximum cached response size is set to 115 KB. Inother instances, the max cacheable response size may be different and/ordynamically adjusted based on operating conditions, network conditions,network capacity, user preferences, network operator requirements, orother application-specific, user specific, and/or device-specificreasons. In one embodiment, the response analyzer 246 d can identify thesize of the response, and cacheability or potential for cacheability canbe determined if a given threshold or max value is not exceeded by theresponse size.

Furthermore, response characteristics information can include responsebody information for the response to the request and other response toother requests generated by a same client on the mobile device, ordirected to a same content host or application server. The response bodyinformation for the response and the other responses can be compared,for example, by the response analyzer 246 d, to prevent the caching ofdynamic content (or responses with content that changes frequently andcannot be efficiently served with cache entries, such as financial data,stock quotes, news feeds, real-time sporting event activities, etc.),such as content that would no longer be relevant or up-to-date if servedfrom cached entries.

The cache appropriateness decision engine 246 (e.g., the contentpredictor 246 b) can definitively identify repeatability or identifyindications of repeatability, potential repeatability, or predictabilityin responses received from a content source (e.g., the contenthost/application server 110 shown in the example of FIG. 1C).Repeatability can be detected by, for example, tracking at least tworesponses received from the content source and determines if the tworesponses are the same. For example, cacheability can be determined, bythe response analyzer 246 d, if the response body information for theresponse and the other responses sent by the same mobile client ordirected to the same host/server are same or substantially the same. Thetwo responses may or may not be responses sent in response toconsecutive requests. In one embodiment, hash values of the responsesreceived for requests from a given application are used to determinerepeatability of content (with or without heuristics) for theapplication in general and/or for the specific request. Additional sameresponses may be required for some applications or under certaincircumstances.

Repeatability in received content need not be 100% ascertained. Forexample, responses can be determined to be repeatable if a certainnumber or a certain percentage of responses are the same, or similar.The certain number or certain percentage of same/similar responses canbe tracked over a select period of time, set by default or set based onthe application generating the requests (e.g., whether the applicationis highly dynamic with constant updates or less dynamic with infrequentupdates). Any indicated predictability or repeatability, or possiblerepeatability, can be utilized by the distributed system in cachingcontent to be provided to a requesting application or client on themobile device 250.

In one embodiment, for a long poll type request, the local proxy 175 canbegin to cache responses on a third request when the response delaytimes for the first two responses are the same, substantially the same,or detected to be increasing in intervals. In general, the receivedresponses for the first two responses should be the same, and uponverifying that the third response received for the third request is thesame (e.g., if R0=R1=R2), the third response can be locally cached onthe mobile device. Less or more same responses may be required to begincaching, depending on the type of application, type of data, type ofcontent, user preferences, or carrier/network operator specifications.

Increasing response delays with same responses for long polls canindicate a hunting period (e.g., a period in which theapplication/client on the mobile device is seeking the longest timebetween a request and response that a given network will allow), asdetected by the long poll hunting detector 238 c of the applicationbehavior detector 236.

An example can be described below using T0, T1, T2, where T indicatesthe delay time between when a request is sent and when a response (e.g.,the response header) is detected/received for consecutive requests:

T0=Response0(t)−Request0(t)=180 s. (+/− tolerance)

T1=Response1(t)−Request1(t)=240 s. (+/− tolerance)

T2=Response2(t)−Request2(t)=500 s. (+/− tolerance)

In the example timing sequence shown above, T0<T1<T2, this may indicatea hunting pattern for a long poll when network timeout has not yet beenreached or exceeded. Furthermore, if the responses R0, R1, and R2received for the three requests are the same, R2 can be cached. In thisexample, R2 is cached during the long poll hunting period withoutwaiting for the long poll to settle, thus expediting response caching(e.g., this is optional accelerated caching behavior which can beimplemented for all or select applications).

As such, the local proxy 275 can specify information that can beextracted from the timing sequence shown above (e.g., polling schedule,polling interval, polling type) to the proxy server and begin cachingand to request the proxy server to begin polling and monitoring thesource (e.g., using any of T0, T1, T2 as polling intervals but typicallyT2, or the largest detected interval without timing out, and for whichresponses from the source is received will be sent to the proxy server325 of FIG. 3A for use in polling the content source (e.g., applicationserver/service provider 310)).

However, if the time intervals are detected to be getting shorter, theapplication (e.g., mobile application)/client may still be hunting for atime interval for which a response can be reliably received from thecontent source (e.g., application/server server/provider 110 or 310),and as such caching typically should not begin until therequest/response intervals indicate the same time interval or anincreasing time interval, for example, for a long poll type request.

An example of handling a detected decreasing delay can be describedbelow using T0, T1, T2, T3, and T4 where T indicates the delay timebetween when a request is sent and when a response (e.g., the responseheader) is detected/received for consecutive requests:

T0=Response0(t)−Request0(t)=160 s. (+/− tolerance)

T1=Response1(t)−Request1(t)=240 s. (+/− tolerance)

T2=Response2(t)−Request2(t)=500 s. (+/− tolerance)

T3=Time out at 700 s. (+/− tolerance)

T4=Response4(t)−Request4(t)=600 (+/− tolerance)

If a pattern for response delays T1<T2<T3>T4 is detected, as shown inthe above timing sequence (e.g., detected by the long poll huntingdetector 238 c of the application behavior detector 236), it can bedetermined that T3 likely exceeded the network time out during a longpoll hunting period. In Request 3, a response likely was not receivedsince the connection was terminated by the network, application, server,or other reason before a response was sent or available. On Request 4(after T4), if a response (e.g., Response 4) is detected or received,the local proxy 275 can then use the response for caching (if thecontent repeatability condition is met). The local proxy can also use T4as the poll interval in the polling schedule set for the proxy server tomonitor/poll the content source.

Note that the above description shows that caching can begin while longpolls are in hunting mode in the event of detecting increasing responsedelays, as long as responses are received and not timed out for a givenrequest. This can be referred to as the optional accelerated cachingduring long poll hunting. Caching can also begin after the hunting mode(e.g., after the poll requests have settled to a constant or nearconstant delay value) has completed. Note that hunting may or may notoccur for long polls and when hunting occurs; the proxy 275 cangenerally detect this and determine whether to begin to cache during thehunting period (increasing intervals with same responses) or wait untilthe hunt settles to a stable value.

In one embodiment, the timing predictor 246 a of the cacheappropriateness decision engine 246 can track timing of responsesreceived from outgoing requests from an application (e.g., mobileapplication) or client to detect any identifiable patterns which can bepartially wholly reproducible, such that locally cached responses can beprovided to the requesting client on the mobile device 250 in a mannerthat simulates content source (e.g., application server/content provider110 or 310) behavior. For example, the manner in which (e.g., from atiming standpoint) responses or content would be delivered to therequesting application/client on the device 250. This ensurespreservation of user experience when responses to application or mobileclient requests are served from a local and/or remote cache instead ofbeing retrieved/received directly from the content source (e.g.,application, content provider 110 or 310).

In one embodiment, the decision engine 246 or the timing predictor 246 adetermines the timing characteristics a given application (e.g., mobileapplication) or client from, for example, the request/response trackingengine 238 b and/or the application profile generator 239 (e.g., theresponse delay interval tracker 239 a). Using the timingcharacteristics, the timing predictor 246 a determines whether thecontent received in response to the requests are suitable or arepotentially suitable for caching. For example, poll request intervalsbetween two consecutive requests from a given application can be used todetermine whether request intervals are repeatable (e.g., constant, nearconstant, increasing with a pattern, decreasing with a pattern, etc.)and can be predicted and thus reproduced at least some of the timeseither exactly or approximated within a tolerance level.

In some instances, the timing characteristics of a given request typefor a specific application, for multiple requests of an application, orfor multiple applications can be stored in the application profilerepository 242. The application profile repository 242 can generallystore any type of information or metadata regarding applicationrequest/response characteristics including timing patterns, timingrepeatability, content repeatability, etc.

The application profile repository 242 can also store metadataindicating the type of request used by a given application (e.g., longpolls, long-held HTTP requests, HTTP streaming, push, COMET push, etc.)Application profiles indicating request type by applications can be usedwhen subsequent same/similar requests are detected, or when requests aredetected from an application which has already been categorized. In thismanner, timing characteristics for the given request type or forrequests of a specific application which has been tracked and/oranalyzed, need not be reanalyzed.

Application profiles can be associated with a time-to-live (e.g., or adefault expiration time). The use of an expiration time for applicationprofiles, or for various aspects of an application or request's profilecan be used on a case by case basis. The time-to-live or actualexpiration time of application profile entries can be set to a defaultvalue or determined individually, or a combination thereof. Applicationprofiles can also be specific to wireless networks, physical networks,network operators, or specific carriers.

One embodiment includes an application blacklist manager 201. Theapplication blacklist manager 201 can be coupled to the applicationcache policy repository 243 and can be partially or wholly internal tolocal proxy or the caching policy manager 245. Similarly, the blacklistmanager 201 can be partially or wholly internal to local proxy or theapplication behavior detector 236. The blacklist manager 201 canaggregate, track, update, manage, adjust, or dynamically monitor a listof destinations of servers/host that are ‘blacklisted,’ or identified asnot cached, on a permanent or temporary basis. The blacklist ofdestinations, when identified in a request, can potentially be used toallow the request to be sent over the (cellular) network for servicing.Additional processing on the request may not be performed since it isdetected to be directed to a blacklisted destination.

Blacklisted destinations can be identified in the application cachepolicy repository 243 by address identifiers including specific URIs orpatterns of identifiers including URI patterns. In general, blacklisteddestinations can be set by or modified for any reason by any partyincluding the user (owner/user of mobile device 250), operatingsystem/mobile platform of device 250, the destination itself, networkoperator (of cellular network), Internet service provider, other thirdparties, or according to a list of destinations for applications knownto be uncacheable/not suited for caching. Some entries in theblacklisted destinations may include destinations aggregated based onthe analysis or processing performed by the local proxy (e.g., cacheappropriateness decision engine 246).

For example, applications or mobile clients on the mobile device forwhich responses have been identified as non-suitable for caching can beadded to the blacklist Their corresponding hosts/servers may be added inaddition to or in lieu of an identification of the requestingapplication/client on the mobile device 250. Some or all of such clientsidentified by the proxy system can be added to the blacklist. Forexample, for all application clients or applications that aretemporarily identified as not being suitable for caching, only thosewith certain detected characteristics (based on timing, periodicity,frequency of response content change, content predictability, size,etc.) can be blacklisted.

The blacklisted entries may include a list of requesting applications orrequesting clients on the mobile device (rather than destinations) suchthat, when a request is detected from a given application or givenclient, it may be sent through the network for a response, sinceresponses for blacklisted clients/applications are in most circumstancesnot cached.

A given application profile may also be treated or processed differently(e.g., different behavior of the local proxy 275 and the remote proxy325) depending on the mobile account associated with a mobile devicefrom which the application is being accessed. For example, a higherpaying account, or a premier account may allow more frequent access ofthe wireless network or higher bandwidth allowance thus affecting thecaching policies implemented between the local proxy 275 and proxyserver 325 with an emphasis on better performance compared toconservation of resources. A given application profile may also betreated or processed differently under different wireless networkconditions (e.g., based on congestion or network outage, etc.).

Note that cache appropriateness can be determined, tracked, and managedfor multiple clients or applications on the mobile device 250. Cacheappropriateness can also be determined for different requests or requesttypes initiated by a given client or application on the mobile device250. The caching policy manager 245, along with the timing predictor 246a and/or the content predictor 246 b which heuristically determines orestimates predictability or potential predictability, can track, manageand store cacheability information for various application or variousrequests for a given application. Cacheability information may alsoinclude conditions (e.g., an application can be cached at certain timesof the day, or certain days of the week, or certain requests of a givenapplication can be cached, or all requests with a given destinationaddress can be cached) under which caching is appropriate which can bedetermined and/or tracked by the cache appropriateness decision engine246 and stored and/or updated when appropriate in the application cachepolicy repository 243 coupled to the cache appropriateness decisionengine 246.

The information in the application cache policy repository 243 regardingcacheability of requests, applications, and/or associated conditions canbe used later on when same requests are detected. In this manner, thedecision engine 246 and/or the timing and content predictors 246 a/bneed not track and reanalyze request/response timing and contentcharacteristics to make an assessment regarding cacheability. Inaddition, the cacheability information can in some instances be sharedwith local proxies of other mobile devices by way of directcommunication or via the host server (e.g., proxy server 325 of hostserver 300).

For example, cacheability information detected by the local proxy 275 onvarious mobile devices can be sent to a remote host server or a proxyserver 325 on the host server (e.g., host server 300 or proxy server 325shown in the example of FIG. 3A, host 100 and proxy server 125 in theexample of FIGS. 1B-C). The remote host or proxy server can thendistribute the information regarding application-specific,request-specific cacheability information and/or any associatedconditions to various mobile devices or their local proxies in awireless network or across multiple wireless networks (same serviceprovider or multiple wireless service providers) for their use.

In general, the selection criteria for caching can further include, byway of example but not limitation, the state of the mobile deviceindicating whether the mobile device is active or inactive, networkconditions, and/or radio coverage statistics. The cache appropriatenessdecision engine 246 can in any one or any combination of the criteria,and in any order, identifying sources for which caching may be suitable.

Once application servers/content providers having identified or detectedcontent that is potentially suitable for local caching on the mobiledevice 250, the cache policy manager 245 can proceed to cache theassociated content received from the identified sources by storingcontent received from the content source as cache elements in a localcache (e.g., local cache 185 or 285 shown in the examples of FIG. 1B1Cand FIG. 2A, respectively) on the mobile device 250.

The response can be stored in the cache 285 (e.g., also referred as thelocal cache) as a cache entry. In addition to the response to a request,the cached entry can include response metadata having additionalinformation regarding caching of the response. The metadata may begenerated by the metadata generator 203 and can include, for example,timing data such as the access time of the cache entry or creation timeof the cache entry. Metadata can include additional information, such asany information suited for use in determining whether the responsestored as the cached entry is used to satisfy the subsequent response.For example, metadata information can further include, request timinghistory (e.g., including request time, request start time, request endtime), hash of the request and/or response, time intervals or changes intime intervals, etc.

The cache entry is typically stored in the cache 285 in association witha time-to-live (TTL), which for example may be assigned or determined bythe TTL manager 244 a of the cache invalidator 244. The time-to-live ofa cache entry is the amount of time the entry is persisted in the cache285 regardless of whether the response is still valid or relevant for agiven request or client/application on the mobile device 250. Forexample, if the time-to-live of a given cache entry is set to 12 hours,the cache entry is purged, removed, or otherwise indicated as havingexceeded the time-to-live, even if the response body contained in thecache entry is still current and applicable for the associated request.

A default time-to-live can be automatically used for all entries unlessotherwise specified (e.g., by the TTL manager 244 a), or each cacheentry can be created with its individual TTL (e.g., determined by theTTL manager 244 a based on various dynamic or static criteria). Notethat each entry can have a single time-to-live associated with both theresponse data and any associated metadata. In some instances, theassociated metadata may have a different time-to-live (e.g., a longertime-to-live) than the response data.

The content source having content for caching can, in addition or inalternate, be identified to a proxy server (e.g., proxy server 125 or325 shown in the examples of FIGS. 1B-1C and FIG. 3A, respectively)remote from and in wireless communication with the mobile device 250such that the proxy server can monitor the content source (e.g.,application server/content provider 110) for new or changed data.Similarly, the local proxy (e.g., the local proxy 175 or 275 of FIGS.1B-1C and FIG. 2A, respectively) can identify to the proxy server thatcontent received from a specific application server/content provider isbeing stored as cached elements in the local cache 285.

Once content has been locally cached, the cache policy manager 245, uponreceiving future polling requests to contact the applicationserver/content host (e.g., 110 or 310), can retrieve the cached elementsfrom the local cache to respond to the polling request made at themobile device 250 such that a radio of the mobile device is notactivated to service the polling request. For example, the cache look-upengine 205 can query the cache 285 to identify the response to be servedto a response. The response can be served from the cache in response toidentifying a matching cache entry and also using any metadata storedwith the response in the cache entry. The cache entries can be queriedby the cache look-up engine using a URI of the request or another typeof identifier (e.g., via the ID or URI filter 205 a). The cache-lookupengine 205 can further use the metadata (e.g., extract any timinginformation or other relevant information) stored with the matchingcache entry to determine whether response is still suited for use inbeing served to a current request.

Note that the cache-look-up can be performed by the engine 205 using oneor more of various multiple strategies. In one embodiment, multiplecook-up strategies can be executed sequentially on each entry store dinthe cache 285, until at least one strategy identifies a matching cacheentry. The strategy employed to performing cache look-up can include astrict matching criteria or a matching criteria which allows fornon-matching parameters.

For example, the look-up engine 205 can perform a strict matchingstrategy which searches for an exact match between an identifier (e.g.,a URI for a host or resource) referenced in a present request for whichthe proxy is attempting to identify a cache entry and an identifierstored with the cache entries. In the case where identifiers includeURIs or URLs, the matching algorithm for strict matching will search fora cache entry where all the parameters in the URLs match. For example:

Example 1.

-   -   Cache contains entry for <URL>/products/    -   Request is being made to <URL>/products/

Strict strategy will find a match, since both URIs are same.

Example 2.

-   -   Cache contains entry for <URL>/products/?query=all    -   Request is being made to <URL>/products/?query=sub

Under the strict strategy outlined above, a match will not be foundsince the URIs differ in the query parameter.

In another example strategy, the look-up engine 205 looks for a cacheentry with an identifier that partially matches the identifierreferences in a present request for which the proxy is attempting toidentify a matching cache entry. For example, the look-up engine 205 maylook for a cache entry with an identifier which differs from the requestidentifier by a query parameter value. In utilizing this strategy, thelook-up engine 205 can collect information collected for multipleprevious requests (e.g., a list of arbitrary parameters in anidentifier) to be later checked with the detected arbitrary parameter inthe current request. For example, in the case where cache entries arestored with URI or URL identifiers, the look-up engine searches for acache entry with a URI differing by a query parameter. If found, theengine 205 can examine the cache entry for information collected duringprevious requests (e.g. a list of arbitrary parameters) and checkedwhether the arbitrary parameter detected in or extracted from thecurrent URI/URL belongs to the arbitrary parameters list.

Example 1.

-   -   Cache contains entry for <URL>/products/?query=all, where query        is marked as arbitrary.    -   Request is being made to <URL>/products/?query=sub

Match will be found, since query parameter is marked as arbitrary.

Example 2.

-   -   Cache contains entry for <URL>/products/?query=all, where query        is marked as arbitrary.    -   Request is being made to <URL>/products/?query=sub&sort=asc

Match will not be found, since current request contains sort parameterwhich is not marked as arbitrary in the cache entry.

Additional strategies for detecting cache hit may be employed. Thesestrategies can be implemented singly or in any combination thereof. Acache-hit can be determined when any one of these strategies determinesa match. A cache miss may be indicated when the look-up engine 205determines that the requested data cannot be served from the cache 285,for any reason. For example, a cache miss may be determined when nocache entries are identified for any or all utilized look-up strategies.

Cache miss may also be determined when a matching cache entry exists butdetermined to be invalid or irrelevant for the current request. Forexample, the look-up engine 205 may further analyze metadata (e.g.,which may include timing data of the cache entry) associated with thematching cache entry to determine whether it is still suitable for usein responding to the present request.

When the look-up engine 205 has identified a cache hit (e.g., an eventindicating that the requested data can be served from the cache), thestored response in the matching cache entry can be served from the cacheto satisfy the request of an application/client.

By servicing requests using cache entries stored in cache 285, networkbandwidth and other resources need not be used to request/receive pollresponses which may have not changed from a response that has alreadybeen received at the mobile device 250. Such servicing and fulfillingapplication (e.g., mobile application) requests locally via cacheentries in the local cache 285 allows for more efficient resource andmobile network traffic utilization and management since the request neednot be sent over the wireless network further consuming bandwidth. Ingeneral, the cache 285 can be persisted between power on/off of themobile device 250, and persisted across application/client refreshes andrestarts.

For example, the local proxy 275, upon receipt of an outgoing requestfrom its mobile device 250 or from an application or other type ofclient on the mobile device 250, can intercept the request and determinewhether a cached response is available in the local cache 285 of themobile device 250. If so, the outgoing request is responded to by thelocal proxy 275 using the cached response on the cache of the mobiledevice. As such, the outgoing request can be filled or satisfied withouta need to send the outgoing request over the wireless network, thusconserving network resources and battery consumption.

In one embodiment, the responding to the requesting application/clienton the device 250 is timed to correspond to a manner in which thecontent server would have responded to the outgoing request over apersistent connection (e.g., over the persistent connection, orlong-held HTTP connection, long poll type connection, that would havebeen established absent interception by the local proxy). The timing ofthe response can be emulated or simulated by the local proxy 275 topreserve application behavior such that end user experience is notaffected, or minimally affected by serving stored content from the localcache 285 rather than fresh content received from the intended contentsource (e.g., content host/application server 110 of FIG. 1B-FIG. 1C).The timing can be replicated exactly or estimated within a toleranceparameter, which may go unnoticed by the user or treated similarly bythe application so as to not cause operation issues.

For example, the outgoing request can be a request for a persistentconnection intended for the content server (e.g., applicationserver/content provider of examples of FIGS. 1B-1C). In a persistentconnection (e.g., long poll, COMET-style push or any other pushsimulation in asynchronous HTTP requests, long-held HTTP request, HTTPstreaming, or others) with a content source (server), the connection isheld for some time after a request is sent. The connection can typicallybe persisted between the mobile device and the server until content isavailable at the server to be sent to the mobile device. Thus, theretypically can be some delay in time between when a long poll request issent and when a response is received from the content source. If aresponse is not provided by the content source for a certain amount oftime, the connection may also terminate due to network reasons (e.g.,socket closure) if a response is not sent.

Thus, to emulate a response from a content server sent over a persistentconnection (e.g., a long poll style connection), the manner of responseof the content server can be simulated by allowing a time interval toelapse before responding to the outgoing request with the cachedresponse. The length of the time interval can be determined on a requestby request basis or on an application by application (client by clientbasis), for example.

In one embodiment, the time interval is determined based on requestcharacteristics (e.g., timing characteristics) of an application on themobile device from which the outgoing request originates. For example,poll request intervals (e.g., which can be tracked, detected, anddetermined by the long poll detector 238 a of the poll interval detector238) can be used to determine the time interval to wait beforeresponding to a request with a local cache entry and managed by theresponse scheduler 249 a.

One embodiment of the cache policy manager 245 includes a poll schedulegenerator 247 which can generate a polling schedule for one or moreapplications on the mobile device 250. The polling schedule can specifya polling interval that can be employed by an entity which is physicallydistinct and/or separate from the mobile device 250 in monitoring thecontent source for one or more applications (such that cached responsescan be verified periodically by polling a host server (host server 110or 310) to which the request is directed) on behalf of the mobiledevice. One example of such an external entity which can monitor thecontent at the source for the mobile device 250 is a proxy server (e.g.,proxy server 125 or 325 shown in the examples of FIGS. 1B-1C and FIG.3A-C).

The polling schedule (e.g., including a rate/frequency of polling) canbe determined, for example, based on the interval between the pollingrequests directed to the content source from the mobile device. Thepolling schedule or rate of polling may be determined at the mobiledevice 250 (by the local proxy). In one embodiment, the poll intervaldetector 238 of the application behavior detector 236 can monitorpolling requests directed to a content source from the mobile device 250in order to determine an interval between the polling requests made fromany or all application (e.g., mobile application).

For example, the poll interval detector 238 can track requests andresponses for applications or clients on the device 250. In oneembodiment, consecutive requests are tracked prior to detection of anoutgoing request initiated from the application (e.g., mobileapplication) on the mobile device 250 by the same mobile client orapplication (e.g., mobile application). The polling rate can bedetermined using request information collected for the request for whichthe response is cached. In one embodiment, the rate is determined fromaverages of time intervals between previous requests generated by thesame client which generated the request. For example, a first intervalmay be computed between the current request and a previous request, anda second interval can be computed between the two previous requests. Thepolling rate can be set from the average of the first interval and thesecond interval and sent to the proxy server in setting up the cachingstrategy.

Alternate intervals may be computed in generating an average; forexample, multiple previous requests in addition to two previous requestsmay be used, and more than two intervals may be used in computing anaverage. In general, in computing intervals, a given request need nothave resulted in a response to be received from the host server/contentsource in order to use it for interval computation. In other words, thetiming characteristics of a given request may be used in intervalcomputation, as long as the request has been detected, even if therequest failed in sending, or if the response retrieval failed.

One embodiment of the poll schedule generator 247 includes a scheduleupdate engine 247 a and/or a time adjustment engine 247 b. The scheduleupdate engine 247 a can determine a need to update a rate or pollinginterval with which a given application server/content host from apreviously set value, based on a detected interval change in the actualrequests generated from a client or application (e.g., mobileapplication) on the mobile device 250.

For example, a request for which a monitoring rate was determined maynow be sent from the application (e.g., mobile application) or client ata different request interval. The scheduled update engine 247 a candetermine the updated polling interval of the actual requests andgenerate a new rate, different from the previously set rate to poll thehost at on behalf of the mobile device 250. The updated polling rate canbe communicated to the remote proxy (proxy server 325) over the cellularnetwork for the remote proxy to monitor the given host. In someinstances, the updated polling rate may be determined at the remoteproxy or remote entity which monitors the host.

In one embodiment, the time adjustment engine 247 b can further optimizethe poll schedule generated to monitor the application server/contentsource (110 or 310). For example, the time adjustment engine 247 b canoptionally specify a time to start polling to the proxy server. Forexample, in addition to setting the polling interval at which the proxyserver is to monitor the application, server/content host can alsospecify the time at which an actual request was generated at the mobileclient/application.

However, in some cases, due to inherent transmission delay or addednetwork delays or other types of latencies, the remote proxy serverreceives the poll setup from the local proxy with some delay (e.g., afew minutes, or a few seconds). This has the effect of detectingresponse change at the source after a request is generated by the mobileclient/application causing the invalidate of the cached response tooccur after it has once again been served to the application after theresponse is no longer current or valid.

To resolve this non-optimal result of serving the out-dated content onceagain before invalidating it, the time adjustment engine 247 b canspecify the time (t0) at which polling should begin in addition to therate, where the specified initial time t0 can be specified to the proxyserver 325 as a time that is less than the actual time when the requestwas generated by the mobile app/client. This way, the server polls theresource slightly before the generation of an actual request by themobile client such that any content change can be detected prior to anactual application request. This prevents invalid or irrelevantout-dated content/response from being served once again before freshcontent is served.

In one embodiment, an outgoing request from a mobile device 250 isdetected to be for a persistent connection (e.g., a long poll, COMETstyle push, and long-held (HTTP) request) based on timingcharacteristics of prior requests from the same application or client onthe mobile device 250. For example, requests and/or correspondingresponses can be tracked by the request/response tracking engine 238 bof the long poll detector 238 a of the poll interval detector 238.

The timing characteristics of the consecutive requests can be determinedto set up a polling schedule for the application or client. The pollingschedule can be used to monitor the content source (contentsource/application server) for content changes such that cached contentstored on the local cache in the mobile device 250 can be appropriatelymanaged (e.g., updated or discarded). In one embodiment, the timingcharacteristics can include, for example, a response delay time (‘D’)and/or an idle time (‘IT’).

In one embodiment, the response/request tracking engine 238 b can trackrequests and responses to determine, compute, and/or estimate, thetiming diagrams for applicant or client requests.

For example, the response/request tracking engine 238 b detects a firstrequest (Request 0) initiated by a client on the mobile device and asecond request (Request 1) initiated by the client on the mobile deviceafter a response is received at the mobile device responsive to thefirst request. The second request is one that is subsequent to the firstrequest.

In one embodiment, the response/request tracking engine 238 b can trackrequests and responses to determine, compute, and/or estimate the timingdiagrams for applicant or client requests. The response/request trackingengine 238 b can detect a first request initiated by a client on themobile device and a second request initiated by the client on the mobiledevice after a response is received at the mobile device responsive tothe first request. The second request is one that is subsequent to thefirst request.

The response/request tracking engine 238 b further determines relativetimings between the first, second requests, and the response received inresponse to the first request. In general, the relative timings can beused by the long poll detector 238 a to determine whether requestsgenerated by the application are long poll requests.

Note that in general, the first and second requests that are used by theresponse/request tracking engine 238 b in computing the relative timingsare selected for use after a long poll hunting period has settled or inthe event when long poll hunting does not occur. Timing characteristicsthat are typical of a long poll hunting period can be, for example,detected by the long poll hunting detector 238 c. In other words, therequests tracked by the response/request tracking engine 238 b and usedfor determining whether a given request is a long poll occurs after thelong poll has settled.

In one embodiment, the long poll hunting detector 238 c can identify ordetect hunting mode, by identifying increasing request intervals (e.g.,increasing delays). The long poll hunting detector 238 a can also detecthunting mode by detecting increasing request intervals, followed by arequest with no response (e.g., connection timed out), or by detectingincreasing request intervals followed by a decrease in the interval. Inaddition, the long poll hunting detector 238 c can apply a filter valueor a threshold value to request-response time delay value (e.g., anabsolute value) above which the detected delay can be considered to be along poll request-response delay. The filter value can be any suitablevalue characteristic of long polls and/or network conditions (e.g., 2 s,5 s, 10 s, 15 s, 20 s., etc.) and can be used as a filter or thresholdvalue.

The response delay time (‘D’) refers to the start time to receive aresponse after a request has been sent and the idle refers to time tosend a subsequent request after the response has been received. In oneembodiment, the outgoing request is detected to be for a persistentconnection based on a comparison (e.g., performed by the tracking engine238 b) of the response delay time relative (‘D’) or average of (‘D’)(e.g., any average over any period of time) to the idle time (‘IT’), forexample, by the long poll detector 238 a. The number of averages usedcan be fixed, dynamically adjusted, or changed over a longer period oftime. For example, the requests initiated by the client are determinedto be long poll requests if the response delay time interval is greaterthan the idle time interval (D>IT or D>>IT). In one embodiment, thetracking engine 238 b of the long poll detector computes, determines, orestimates the response delay time interval as the amount of time elapsedbetween time of the first request and initial detection or full receiptof the response.

In one embodiment, a request is detected to be for a persistentconnection when the idle time (‘IT’) is short since persistentconnections, established in response to long poll requests or long pollHTTP requests for example, can also be characterized in detectingimmediate or near-immediate issuance of a subsequent request afterreceipt of a response to a previous request (e.g., IT ˜0). As such, theidle time (‘IT’) can also be used to detect such immediate ornear-immediate re-request to identify long poll requests. The absoluteor relative timings determined by the tracking engine 238 b are used todetermine whether the second request is immediately or near-immediatelyre-requested after the response to the first request is received. Forexample, a request may be categorized as a long poll request ifD+RT+IT˜D+RT since IT is small for this to hold true. IT may bedetermined to be small if it is less than a threshold value. Note thatthe threshold value could be fixed or calculated over a limited timeperiod (a session, a day, a month, etc.), or calculated over a longertime period (e.g., several months or the life of the analysis). Forexample, for every request, the average IT can be determined, and thethreshold can be determined using this average IT (e.g., the average ITless a certain percentage may be used as the threshold). This can allowthe threshold to automatically adapt over time to network conditions andchanges in server capability, resource availability or server response.A fixed threshold can take upon any value including by way of examplebut not limitation (e.g., 1 s. 2 s. 3 s. . . . etc.).

In one embodiment, the long poll detector 238 a can compare the relativetimings (e.g., determined by the tracker engine 238 b) torequest-response timing characteristics for other applications todetermine whether the requests of the application are long pollrequests. For example, the requests initiated by a client or applicationcan be determined to be long poll requests if the response delayinterval time (‘D’) or the average response delay interval time (e.g.,averaged over x number of requests or any number of delay interval timesaveraged over x amount of time) is greater than a threshold value.

The threshold value can be determined using response delay intervaltimes for requests generated by other clients, for example by therequest/response tracking engine 238 b and/or by the application profilegenerator 239 (e.g., the response delay interval tracker 239 a). Theother clients may reside on the same mobile device and the thresholdvalue is determined locally by components on the mobile device. Thethreshold value can be determined for all requests over all resourcesserver over all networks, for example. The threshold value can be set toa specific constant value (e.g., 30 seconds, for example) to be used forall requests, or any request which does not have an applicable thresholdvalue (e.g., long poll is detected if D>30 seconds).

In some instances, the other clients reside on different mobile devicesand the threshold can be determined by a proxy server (e.g., proxyserver 325 of the host 300 shown in the example of FIG. 3A-B) which isexternal to the mobile device and able to communicate over a wirelessnetwork with the multiple different mobile devices, as will be furtherdescribed with reference to FIG. 3B.

In one embodiment, the cache policy manager 245 sends the pollingschedule to the proxy server (e.g., proxy server 125 or 325 shown in theexamples of FIGS. 1B-1C and FIG. 3A) and can be used by the proxy serverin monitoring the content source, for example, for changed or newcontent (updated response different from the cached response associatedwith a request or application). A polling schedule sent to the proxy caninclude multiple timing parameters including but not limited to interval(time from request 1 to request 2) or a time out interval (time to waitfor response, used in long polls, for example). Referring to the timingdiagram of a request/response timing sequence timing intervals ‘RI’,‘D’, ‘RT’, and/or ‘IT’, or some statistical manipulation of the abovevalues (e.g., average, standard deviation, etc.) may all or in part besent to the proxy server.

For example, in the case when the local proxy 275 detects a long poll,the various timing intervals in a request/response timing sequence(e.g., ‘D’, ‘RT’, and/or ‘IT’) can be sent to the proxy server 325 foruse in polling the content source (e.g., application server/content host110). The local proxy 275 can also identify to the proxy server 325 thata given application or request to be monitored is a long poll request(e.g., instructing the proxy server to set a ‘long poll flag’, forexample). In addition, the proxy server uses the various timingintervals to determine when to send keep-alive indications on behalf ofmobile devices.

The local cache invalidator 244 of the caching policy manager 245 caninvalidate cache elements in the local cache (e.g., cache 185 or 285)when new or changed data (e.g., updated response) is detected from theapplication server/content source for a given request. The cachedresponse can be determined to be invalid for the outgoing request basedon a notification received from the proxy server (e.g., proxy 325 or thehost server 300). The source which provides responses to requests of themobile client can be monitored to determine relevancy of the cachedresponse stored in the cache of the mobile device 250 for the request.For example, the cache invalidator 244 can further remove/delete thecached response from the cache of the mobile device when the cachedresponse is no longer valid for a given request or a given application.

In one embodiment, the cached response is removed from the cache afterit is provided once again to an application which generated the outgoingrequest after determining that the cached response is no longer valid.The cached response can be provided again without waiting for the timeinterval or provided again after waiting for a time interval (e.g., thetime interval determined to be specific to emulate the response delay ina long poll). In one embodiment, the time interval is the response delay‘D’ or an average value of the response delay ‘D’ over two or morevalues.

The new or changed data can be, for example, detected by the proxyserver (e.g., proxy server 125 or 325 shown in the examples of FIGS.1B-1C and FIG. 3A). When a cache entry for a given request/poll has beeninvalidated, the use of the radio on the mobile device 250 can beenabled (e.g., by the local proxy 275 or the cache policy manager 245)to satisfy the subsequent polling requests, as further described withreference to the interaction diagram of FIG. 9-10.

One embodiment of the cache policy manager 245 includes a cache orconnect selection engine 249 which can decide whether to use a locallycached entry to satisfy a poll/content request generated at the mobiledevice 250 by an application or widget. For example, the local proxy 275or the cache policy manger 245 can intercept a polling request, made byan application (e.g., mobile application) on the mobile device, tocontact the application server/content provider. The selection engine249 can determine whether the content received for the interceptedrequest has been locally stored as cache elements for deciding whetherthe radio of the mobile device needs to be activated to satisfy therequest made by the application (e.g., mobile application) and alsodetermine whether the cached response is still valid for the outgoingrequest prior to responding to the outgoing request using the cachedresponse.

In one embodiment, the local proxy 275, in response to determining thatrelevant cached content exists and is still valid, can retrieve thecached elements from the local cache to provide a response to theapplication (e.g., mobile application) which made the polling requestsuch that a radio of the mobile device is not activated to provide theresponse to the application (e.g., mobile application). In general, thelocal proxy 275 continues to provide the cached response each time theoutgoing request is received until the updated response different fromthe cached response is detected.

When it is determined that the cached response is no longer valid, a newrequest for a given request is transmitted over the wireless network foran updated response. The request can be transmitted to the applicationserver/content provider (e.g., server/host 110) or the proxy server onthe host server (e.g., proxy 325 on the host 300) for a new and updatedresponse. In one embodiment the cached response can be provided again asa response to the outgoing request if a new response is not receivedwithin the time interval, prior to removal of the cached response fromthe cache on the mobile device.

FIG. 2C depicts a block diagram illustrating another example ofcomponents in the application behavior detector 236 and the cachingpolicy manager 245 in the local proxy 275 on the client-side of thedistributed proxy system shown in the example of FIG. 2A. Theillustrated application behavior detector 236 and the caching policymanager 245 can, for example, enable the local proxy 275 to detect cachedefeat and perform caching of content addressed by identifiers intendedto defeat cache.

In one embodiment, the caching policy manager 245 includes a cachedefeat resolution engine 221, an identifier formalizer 211, a cacheappropriateness decision engine 246, a poll schedule generator 247, anapplication protocol module 248, a cache or connect selection engine 249having a cache query module 229, and/or a local cache invalidator 244.The cache defeat resolution engine 221 can further include a patternextraction module 222 and/or a cache defeat parameter detector 223. Thecache defeat parameter detector 223 can further include a randomparameter detector 224 and/or a time/date parameter detector 226. Oneembodiment further includes an application cache policy repository 243coupled to the decision engine 246.

In one embodiment, the application behavior detector 236 includes apattern detector 237, a poll interval detector 238, an applicationprofile generator 239, and/or a priority engine 241. The patterndetector 237 can further include a cache defeat parameter detector 223having also, for example, a random parameter detector 233 and/or atime/date parameter detector 234. One embodiment further includes anapplication profile repository 242 coupled to the application profilegenerator 239. The application profile generator 239, and the priorityengine 241 have been described in association with the description ofthe application behavior detector 236 in the example of FIG. 2A.

The cache defeat resolution engine 221 can detect, identify, track,manage, and/or monitor content or content sources (e.g., servers orhosts) which employ identifiers and/or are addressed by identifiers(e.g., resource identifiers such as URLs and/or URIs) with one or moremechanisms that defeat cache or are intended to defeat cache. The cachedefeat resolution engine 221 can, for example, detect from a given datarequest generated by an application or client that the identifierdefeats or potentially defeats cache, where the data request otherwiseaddresses content or responses from a host or server (e.g., applicationserver/content host 110 or 310) that is cacheable.

In one embodiment, the cache defeat resolution engine 221 detects oridentifies cache defeat mechanisms used by content sources (e.g.,application server/content host 110 or 310) using the identifier of adata request detected at the mobile device 250. The cache defeatresolution engine 221 can detect or identify a parameter in theidentifier which can indicate that cache defeat mechanism is used. Forexample, a format, syntax, or pattern of the parameter can be used toidentify cache defeat (e.g., a pattern, format, or syntax as determinedor extracted by the pattern extraction module 222).

The pattern extraction module 222 can parse an identifier into multipleparameters or components and perform a matching algorithm on eachparameter to identify any of which match one or more predeterminedformats (e.g., a date and/or time format). For example, the results ofthe matching or the parsed out parameters from an identifier can be used(e.g., by the cache defeat parameter detector 223) to identify cachedefeating parameters which can include one or more changing parameters.

The cache defeat parameter detector 223, in one embodiment can detectrandom parameters (e.g., by the random parameter detector 224) and/ortime and/or date parameters which are typically used for cache defeat.The cache defeat parameter detector 223 can detect random parametersand/or time/dates using commonly employed formats for these parametersand performing pattern matching algorithms and tests.

In addition to detecting patterns, formats, and/or syntaxes, the cachedefeat parameter detector 223 further determines or confirms whether agiven parameter is defeating cache and whether the addressed content canbe cached by the distributed caching system. The cache defeat parameterdetector 223 can detect this by analyzing responses received for theidentifiers utilized by a given data request. In general, a changingparameter in the identifier is identified to indicate cache defeat whenresponses corresponding to multiple data requests are the same even whenthe multiple data requests uses identifiers with the changing parameterbeing different for each of the multiple data requests. For example, therequest/response pairs illustrate that the responses received are thesame, even though the resource identifier includes a parameter thatchanges with each request.

For example, at least two same responses may be required to identify thechanging parameter as indicating cache defeat. In some instances, atleast three same responses may be required. The requirement for thenumber of same responses needed to determine that a given parameter witha varying value between requests is cache defeating may be applicationspecific, context dependent, and/or user dependent/user specified, or acombination of the above. Such a requirement may also be static ordynamically adjusted by the distributed cache system to meet certainperformance thresholds and/or either explicit/implicit feedbackregarding user experience (e.g., whether the user or application isreceiving relevant/fresh content responsive to requests). More of thesame responses may be required to confirm cache defeat, or for thesystem to treat a given parameter as intended for cache defeat if anapplication begins to malfunction due to response caching and/or if theuser expresses dissatisfaction (explicit user feedback) or the systemdetects user frustration (implicit user cues).

The cache appropriateness decision engine 246 can detect, assess, ordetermine whether content from a content source (e.g., applicationserver/content provider 110 in the example of FIG. 1C) with which amobile device 250 interacts, has content that may be suitable forcaching. In some instances, content from a given applicationserver/content provider (e.g., the server/provider 110 of FIG. 1C) isdetermined to be suitable for caching based on a set of criteria (forexample, criteria specifying time criticality of the content that isbeing requested from the content source). In one embodiment, the localproxy (e.g., the local proxy 175 or 275 of FIGS. 1B-1C and FIG. 2A)applies a selection criteria to store the content from the host serverwhich is requested by an application as cached elements in a local cacheon the mobile device to satisfy subsequent requests made by theapplication.

The selection criteria can also include, by way of example, but notlimitation, state of the mobile device indicating whether the mobiledevice is active or inactive, network conditions, and/or radio coveragestatistics. The cache appropriateness decision engine 246 can any one orany combination of the criteria, and in any order, in identifyingsources for which caching may be suitable.

Once application servers/content providers having identified or detectedcontent that is potentially suitable for local caching on the mobiledevice 250, the cache policy manager 245 can proceed to cache theassociated content received from the identified sources by storingcontent received from the content source as cache elements in a localcache (e.g., local cache 185 or 285 shown in the examples of FIGS. 1B-1Cand FIG. 2A, respectively) on the mobile device 250. The content sourcecan also be identified to a proxy server (e.g., proxy server 125 or 325shown in the examples of FIGS. 1B-1C and FIG. 3A, respectively) remotefrom and in wireless communication with the mobile device 250 such thatthe proxy server can monitor the content source (e.g., applicationserver/content provider 110) for new or changed data. Similarly, thelocal proxy (e.g., the local proxy 175 or 275 of FIGS. 1B-1C and FIG.2A, respectively) can identify to the proxy server that content receivedfrom a specific application server/content provider is being stored ascached elements in the local cache.

In one embodiment, cache elements are stored in the local cache 285 asbeing associated with a normalized version of an identifier for anidentifier employing one or more parameters intended to defeat cache.The identifier can be normalized by the identifier normalizer module 211and the normalization process can include, by way of example, one ormore of: converting the URI scheme and host to lower-case, capitalizingletters in percent-encoded escape sequences, removing a default port,and removing duplicate slashes.

In another embodiment, the identifier is normalized by removing theparameter for cache defeat and/or replacing the parameter with a staticvalue which can be used to address or be associated with the cachedresponse received responsive to a request utilizing the identifier bythe normalizer 211 or the cache defeat parameter handler 212. Forexample, the cached elements stored in the local cache 285 (shown inFIG. 2A) can be identified using the normalized version of theidentifier or a hash value of the normalized version of the identifier.The hash value of an identifier or of the normalized identifier may begenerated by the hash engine 213.

Once content has been locally cached, the cache policy manager 245 can,upon receiving future polling requests to contact the content server,retrieve the cached elements from the local cache to respond to thepolling request made at the mobile device 250 such that a radio of themobile device is not activated to service the polling request. Suchservicing and fulfilling application (e.g., mobile application) requestslocally via local cache entries allow for more efficient resource andmobile network traffic utilization and management since networkbandwidth and other resources need not be used to request/receive pollresponses which may have not changed from a response that has alreadybeen received at the mobile device 250.

One embodiment of the cache policy manager 245 includes a poll schedulegenerator 247 which can generate a polling schedule for one or moreapplications on the mobile device 250. The polling schedule can specifya polling interval that can be employed by the proxy server (e.g., proxyserver 125 or 325 shown in the examples of FIGS. 1B-1C and FIG. 3A) inmonitoring the content source for one or more applications. The pollingschedule can be determined, for example, based on the interval betweenthe polling requests directed to the content source from the mobiledevice. In one embodiment, the poll interval detector 238 of theapplication behavior detector can monitor polling requests directed to acontent source from the mobile device 250 in order to determine aninterval between the polling requests made from any or all application(e.g., mobile application).

In one embodiment, the cache policy manager 245 sends the pollingschedule is sent to the proxy server (e.g., proxy server 125 or 325shown in the examples of FIGS. 1B-1C and FIG. 3A) and can be used by theproxy server in monitoring the content source, for example, for changedor new content. The local cache invalidator 244 of the caching policymanager 245 can invalidate cache elements in the local cache (e.g.,cache 185 or 285) when new or changed data is detected from theapplication server/content source for a given request. The new orchanged data can be, for example, detected by the proxy server. When acache entry for a given request/poll has been invalidated and/or removed(e.g., deleted from cache) after invalidation, the use of the radio onthe mobile device 250 can be enabled (e.g., by the local proxy or thecache policy manager 245) to satisfy the subsequent polling requests, asfurther described with reference to the interaction diagram of FIG. 4B.

In another embodiment, the proxy server (e.g., proxy server 125 or 325shown in the examples of FIGS. 1B-1C 1C and FIG. 3A) uses a modifiedversion of a resource identifier used in a data request to monitor agiven content source (the application server/content host 110 of FIGS.1B-1C to which the data request is addressed) for new or changed data.For example, in the instance where the content source or identifier isdetected to employ cache defeat mechanisms, a modified (e.g.,normalized) identifier can be used instead to poll the content source.The modified or normalized version of the identifier can be communicatedto the proxy server by the caching policy manager 245, or morespecifically the cache defeat parameter handler 212 of the identifiernormalizer 211.

The modified identifier used by the proxy server to poll the contentsource on behalf of the mobile device/application (e.g., mobileapplication) may or may not be the same as the normalized identifier.For example, the normalized identifier may be the original identifierwith the changing cache defeating parameter removed whereas the modifiedidentifier uses a substitute parameter in place of the parameter that isused to defeat cache (e.g., the changing parameter replaced with astatic value or other predetermined value known to the local proxyand/or proxy server). The modified parameter can be determined by thelocal proxy 275 and communicated to the proxy server. The modifiedparameter may also be generated by the proxy server (e.g., by theidentifier modifier module 353 shown in the example of FIG. 3C).

One embodiment of the cache policy manager 245 includes a cache orconnect selection engine 249 which can decide whether to use a locallycached entry to satisfy a poll/content request generated at the mobiledevice 250 by an application or widget. For example, the local proxy 275or the cache policy manger 245 can intercept a polling request made byan application (e.g., mobile application) on the mobile device, tocontact the application server/content provider. The selection engine249 can determine whether the content received for the interceptedrequest has been locally stored as cache elements for deciding whetherthe a radio of the mobile device needs to be activated to satisfy therequest made by the application (e.g., mobile application). In oneembodiment, the local proxy 275, in response to determining thatrelevant cached content exists and is still valid, can retrieve thecached elements from the local cache to provide a response to theapplication (e.g., mobile application) which made the polling requestsuch that a radio of the mobile device is not activated to provide theresponse to the application (e.g., mobile application).

In one embodiment, the cached elements stored in the local cache 285(shown in FIG. 2A) can be identified using a normalized version of theidentifier or a hash value of the normalized version of the identifier,for example, using the cache query module 229. Cached elements can bestored with normalized identifiers which have cache defeating parametersremoved or otherwise replaced such that the relevant cached elements canbe identified and retrieved in the future to satisfy other requestsemploying the same type of cache defeat. For example, when an identifierutilized in a subsequent request is determined to be utilizing the samecache defeating parameter, the normalized version of this identifier canbe generated and used to identify a cached response stored in the mobiledevice cache to satisfy the data request. The hash value of anidentifier or of the normalized identifier may be generated by the hashengine 213 of the identifier normalizer 211.

FIG. 2D depicts a block diagram illustrating examples of additionalcomponents in the local proxy 275 shown in the example of FIG. 2A whichis further capable of performing mobile traffic categorization andpolicy implementation based on application behavior and/or useractivity.

In this embodiment of the local proxy 275, the user activity module 215further includes one or more of, a user activity tracker 215 a, a useractivity prediction engine 215 b, and/or a user expectation manager 215c. The application behavior detect 236 can further include aprioritization engine 241 a, a time criticality detection engine 241 b,an application state categorizer 241 c, and/or an application trafficcategorizer 241 d. The local proxy 275 can further include a backlightdetector 219 and/or a network configuration selection engine 251. Thenetwork configuration selection engine 251 can further include, one ormore of, a wireless generation standard selector 251 a, a data ratespecifier 251 b, an access channel selection engine 251 c, and/or anaccess point selector 251 d.

In one embodiment, the application behavior detector 236 is able todetect, determined, identify, or infer, the activity state of anapplication on the mobile device 250 to which traffic has originatedfrom or is directed to, for example, via the application statecategorizer 241 c and/or the traffic categorizer 241 d. The activitystate can be determined by whether the application is in a foreground orbackground state on the mobile device (via the application statecategorizer 241 c) since the traffic for a foreground application vs. abackground application may be handled differently.

In one embodiment, the activity state can be determined, detected,identified, or inferred with a level of certainty of heuristics, basedon the backlight status of the mobile device 250 (e.g., by the backlightdetector 219) or other software agents or hardware sensors on the mobiledevice, including but not limited to, resistive sensors, capacitivesensors, ambient light sensors, motion sensors, touch sensors, etc. Ingeneral, if the backlight is on, the traffic can be treated as being ordetermined to be generated from an application that is active or in theforeground, or the traffic is interactive. In addition, if the backlightis on, the traffic can be treated as being or determined to be trafficfrom user interaction or user activity, or traffic containing data thatthe user is expecting within some time frame.

In one embodiment, the activity state is determined based on whether thetraffic is interactive traffic or maintenance traffic. Interactivetraffic can include transactions from responses and requests generateddirectly from user activity/interaction with an application and caninclude content or data that a user is waiting or expecting to receive.Maintenance traffic may be used to support the functionality of anapplication which is not directly detected by a user. Maintenancetraffic can also include actions or transactions that may take place inresponse to a user action, but the user is not actively waiting for orexpecting a response.

For example, a mail or message delete action at a mobile device 250generates a request to delete the corresponding mail or message at theserver, but the user typically is not waiting for a response. Thus, sucha request may be categorized as maintenance traffic, or traffic having alower priority (e.g., by the prioritization engine 241 a) and/or is nottime-critical (e.g., by the time criticality detection engine 214 b).

Contrastingly, a mail ‘read’ or message ‘read’ request initiated by auser a the mobile device 250, can be categorized as ‘interactivetraffic’ since the user generally is waiting to access content or datawhen they request to read a message or mail. Similarly, such a requestcan be categorized as having higher priority (e.g., by theprioritization engine 241 a) and/or as being time critical/timesensitive (e.g., by the time criticality detection engine 241 b).

The time criticality detection engine 241 b can generally determine,identify, infer the time sensitivity of data contained in traffic sentfrom the mobile device 250 or to the mobile device from a host server(e.g., host 300) or application server (e.g., app server/content source110). For example, time sensitive data can include, status updates,stock information updates, IM presence information, email messages orother messages, actions generated from mobile gaming applications,webpage requests, location updates, etc. Data that is not time sensitiveor time critical, by nature of the content or request, can includerequests to delete messages, mark-as-read or edited actions,application-specific actions such as a add-friend or delete-friendrequest, certain types of messages, or other information which does notfrequently changing by nature, etc. In some instances when the data isnot time critical, the timing with which to allow the traffic to passthrough is set based on when additional data needs to be sent from themobile device 250. For example, traffic shaping engine 255 can align thetraffic with one or more subsequent transactions to be sent together ina single power-on event of the mobile device radio (e.g., using thealignment module 256 and/or the batching module 257). The alignmentmodule 256 can also align polling requests occurring close in timedirected to the same host server, since these request are likely to beresponded to with the same data.

In the alternate or in combination, the activity state can be determinedfrom assessing, determining, evaluating, inferring, identifying useractivity at the mobile device 250 (e.g., via the user activity module215). For example, user activity can be directly detected and trackedusing the user activity tracker 215 a. The traffic resulting therefromcan then be categorized appropriately for subsequent processing todetermine the policy for handling. Furthermore, user activity can bepredicted or anticipated by the user activity prediction engine 215 b.By predicting user activity or anticipating user activity, the trafficthus occurring after the prediction can be treated as resulting fromuser activity and categorized appropriately to determine thetransmission policy.

In addition, the user activity module 215 can also manage userexpectations (e.g., via the user expectation manager 215 c and/or inconjunction with the activity tracker 215 and/or the prediction engine215 b) to ensure that traffic is categorized appropriately such thatuser expectations are generally met. For example, a user-initiatedaction should be analyzed (e.g., by the expectation manager 215) todetermine or infer whether the user would be waiting for a response. Ifso, such traffic should be handled under a policy such that the userdoes not experience an unpleasant delay in receiving such a response oraction.

In one embodiment, an advanced generation wireless standard network isselected for use in sending traffic between a mobile device and a hostserver in the wireless network based on the activity state of theapplication on the mobile device for which traffic is originated from ordirected to. An advanced technology standards such as the 3G, 3.5G, 3G+,4G, or LTE network can be selected for handling traffic generated as aresult of user interaction, user activity, or traffic containing datathat the user is expecting or waiting for. Advanced generation wirelessstandard network can also be selected for to transmit data contained intraffic directed to the mobile device which responds to foregroundactivities.

In categorizing traffic and defining a transmission policy for mobiletraffic, a network configuration can be selected for use (e.g., by thenetwork configuration selection engine 251) on the mobile device 250 insending traffic between the mobile device and a proxy server (325)and/or an application server (e.g., app server/host 110). The networkconfiguration that is selected can be determined based on informationgathered by the application behavior module 236 regarding applicationactivity state (e.g., background or foreground traffic), applicationtraffic category (e.g., interactive or maintenance traffic), anypriorities of the data/content, time sensitivity/criticality.

The network configuration selection engine 2510 can select or specifyone or more of, a generation standard (e.g., via wireless generationstandard selector 251 a), a data rate (e.g., via data rate specifier 251b), an access channel (e.g., access channel selection engine 251 c),and/or an access point (e.g., via the access point selector 251 d), inany combination.

For example, a more advanced generation (e.g., 3G, LTE, or 4G or later)can be selected or specified for traffic when the activity state is ininteraction with a user or in a foreground on the mobile device.Contrastingly, an older generation standard (e.g., 2G, 2.5G, or 3G orolder) can be specified for traffic when one or more of the following isdetected, the application is not interacting with the user, theapplication is running in the background on the mobile device, or thedata contained in the traffic is not time critical, or is otherwisedetermined to have lower priority.

Similarly, a network configuration with a slower data rate can bespecified for traffic when one or more of the following is detected, theapplication is not interacting with the user, the application is runningin the background on the mobile device, or the data contained in thetraffic is not time critical. The access channel (e.g., Forward accesschannel or dedicated channel) can be specified.

FIG. 3A depicts a block diagram illustrating an example of server-sidecomponents in a distributed proxy and cache system residing on a hostserver 300 that manages traffic in a wireless network for resourceconservation. The server-side proxy (or proxy server 325) can furthercategorize mobile traffic and/or implement delivery policies based onapplication behavior, content priority, user activity, and/or userexpectations.

The host server 300 generally includes, for example, a network interface308 and/or one or more repositories 312, 314, and 316. Note that server300 may be any portable/mobile or non-portable device, server, clusterof computers and/or other types of processing units (e.g., any number ofa machine shown in the example of FIG. 16) able to receive or transmitsignals to satisfy data requests over a network including any wired orwireless networks (e.g., WiFi, cellular, Bluetooth, etc.).

The network interface 308 can include networking module(s) or devices(s)that enable the server 300 to mediate data in a network with an entitythat is external to the host server 300, through any known and/orconvenient communications protocol supported by the host and theexternal entity. Specifically, the network interface 308 allows theserver 300 to communicate with multiple devices including mobile phonedevices 350 and/or one or more application servers/content providers310.

The host server 300 can store information about connections (e.g.,network characteristics, conditions, types of connections, etc.) withdevices in the connection metadata repository 312. Additionally, anyinformation about third party application or content providers can alsobe stored in the repository 312. The host server 300 can storeinformation about devices (e.g., hardware capability, properties, devicesettings, device language, network capability, manufacturer, devicemodel, OS, OS version, etc.) in the device information repository 314.Additionally, the host server 300 can store information about networkproviders and the various network service areas in the network serviceprovider repository 316.

The communication enabled by network interface 308 allows forsimultaneous connections (e.g., including cellular connections) withdevices 350 and/or connections (e.g., including wired/wireless, HTTP,Internet connections, LAN, WiFi, etc.) with content servers/providers310 to manage the traffic between devices 350 and content providers 310or other servers such as an ad server 320 a, promotional content server320 b, or an e-coupon server 320 c for optimizing network resourceutilization and/or to conserve power (battery) consumption on theserviced devices 350. The host server 300 can communicate with mobiledevices 350 serviced by different network service providers and/or inthe same/different network service areas. The host server 300 canoperate and is compatible with devices 350 with varying types or levelsof mobile capabilities, including by way of example but not limitation,1G, 2G, 2G transitional (2.5G, 2.75G), 3G (IMT-2000), 3G transitional(3.5G, 3.75G, 3.9G), 4G (IMT-advanced), etc.

In general, the network interface 308 can include one or more of anetwork adaptor card, a wireless network interface card (e.g., SMSinterface, WiFi interface, interfaces for various generations of mobilecommunication standards including but not limited to 1G, 2G, 3G, 3.5G,4G type networks such as LTE, WiMAX, etc.), Bluetooth, WiFi, or anyother network whether or not connected via a router, an access point, awireless router, a switch, a multilayer switch, a protocol converter, agateway, a bridge, a bridge router, a hub, a digital media receiver,and/or a repeater.

The host server 300 can further include server-side components of thedistributed proxy and cache system which can include a proxy server 325and a server cache 335. In one embodiment, the proxy server 325 caninclude an HTTP access engine 345, a caching policy manager 355, a proxycontroller 365, a traffic shaping engine 375, a new data detector 347and/or a connection manager 395.

The HTTP access engine 345 may further include a heartbeat manager 398;the proxy controller 365 may further include a data invalidator module368; the traffic shaping engine 375 may further include a controlprotocol 376 and a batching module 377. Additional or lesscomponents/modules/engines can be included in the proxy server 325 andeach illustrated component.

As used herein, a “module,” a “manager,” a “handler,” a “detector,” an“interface,” a “controller,” a “normalizer,” a “generator,” an“invalidator,” or an “engine” includes a general purpose, dedicated orshared processor and, typically, firmware or software modules that areexecuted by the processor. Depending upon implementation-specific orother considerations, the module, manager, handler, detector, interface,controller, normalizer, generator, invalidator, or engine can becentralized or its functionality distributed. The module, manager,handler, detector, interface, controller, normalizer, generator,invalidator, or engine can include general or special purpose hardware,firmware, or software embodied in a computer-readable (storage) mediumfor execution by the processor. As used herein, a computer-readablemedium or computer-readable storage medium is intended to include allmediums that are statutory (e.g., in the United States, under 35 U.S.C.101), and to specifically exclude all mediums that are non-statutory innature to the extent that the exclusion is necessary for a claim thatincludes the computer-readable (storage) medium to be valid. Knownstatutory computer-readable mediums include hardware (e.g., registers,random access memory (RAM), non-volatile (NV) storage, to name a few),but may or may not be limited to hardware.

In the example of a device (e.g., mobile device 350) making anapplication or content request to an application server or contentprovider 310, the request may be intercepted and routed to the proxyserver 325 which is coupled to the device 350 and the applicationserver/content provider 310. Specifically, the proxy server is able tocommunicate with the local proxy (e.g., proxy 175 and 275 of theexamples of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 respectively) of the mobile device 350,the local proxy forwards the data request to the proxy server 325 insome instances for further processing and, if needed, for transmissionto the application server/content server 310 for a response to the datarequest.

In such a configuration, the host 300, or the proxy server 325 in thehost server 300 can utilize intelligent information provided by thelocal proxy in adjusting its communication with the device in such amanner that optimizes use of network and device resources. For example,the proxy server 325 can identify characteristics of user activity onthe device 350 to modify its communication frequency. Thecharacteristics of user activity can be determined by, for example, theactivity/behavior awareness module 366 in the proxy controller 365 viainformation collected by the local proxy on the device 350.

In one embodiment, communication frequency can be controlled by theconnection manager 395 of the proxy server 325, for example, to adjustpush frequency of content or updates to the device 350. For instance,push frequency can be decreased by the connection manager 395 whencharacteristics of the user activity indicate that the user is inactive.In one embodiment, when the characteristics of the user activityindicate that the user is subsequently active after a period ofinactivity, the connection manager 395 can adjust the communicationfrequency with the device 350 to send data that was buffered as a resultof decreased communication frequency to the device 350.

In addition, the proxy server 325 includes priority awareness of variousrequests, transactions, sessions, applications, and/or specific events.Such awareness can be determined by the local proxy on the device 350and provided to the proxy server 325. The priority awareness module 367of the proxy server 325 can generally assess the priority (e.g.,including time-criticality, time-sensitivity, etc.) of various events orapplications; additionally, the priority awareness module 367 can trackpriorities determined by local proxies of devices 350.

In one embodiment, through priority awareness, the connection manager395 can further modify communication frequency (e.g., use or radio ascontrolled by the radio controller 396) of the server 300 with thedevices 350. For example, the server 300 can notify the device 350, thusrequesting use of the radio if it is not already in use when data orupdates of an importance/priority level which meets a criteria becomesavailable to be sent.

In one embodiment, the proxy server 325 can detect multiple occurrencesof events (e.g., transactions, content, data received fromserver/provider 310) and allow the events to accumulate for batchtransfer to device 350. Batch transfer can be cumulated and transfer ofevents can be delayed based on priority awareness and/or useractivity/application behavior awareness as tracked by modules 367 and/or366. For example, batch transfer of multiple events (of a lowerpriority) to the device 350 can be initiated by the batching module 377when an event of a higher priority (meeting a threshold or criteria) isdetected at the server 300. In addition, batch transfer from the server300 can be triggered when the server receives data from the device 350,indicating that the device radio is already in use and is thus on. Inone embodiment, the proxy server 325 can order the each messages/packetsin a batch for transmission based on event/transaction priority suchthat higher priority content can be sent first in case connection islost or the battery dies, etc.

In one embodiment, the server 300 caches data (e.g., as managed by thecaching policy manager 355) such that communication frequency over anetwork (e.g., cellular network) with the device 350 can be modified(e.g., decreased). The data can be cached, for example, in the servercache 335 for subsequent retrieval or batch sending to the device 350 topotentially decrease the need to turn on the device 350 radio. Theserver cache 335 can be partially or wholly internal to the host server300, although in the example of FIG. 3A it is shown as being external tothe host 300. In some instances, the server cache 335 may be the same asand/or integrated in part or in whole with another cache managed byanother entity (e.g., the optional caching proxy server 199 shown in theexample of FIG. 1C), such as being managed by an applicationserver/content provider 310, a network service provider, or anotherthird party.

In one embodiment, content caching is performed locally on the device350 with the assistance of host server 300. For example, proxy server325 in the host server 300 can query the application server/provider 310with requests and monitor changes in responses. When changed or newresponses are detected (e.g., by the new data detector 347), the proxyserver 325 can notify the mobile device 350 such that the local proxy onthe device 350 can make the decision to invalidate (e.g., indicated asout-dated) the relevant cache entries stored as any responses in itslocal cache. Alternatively, the data invalidator module 368 canautomatically instruct the local proxy of the device 350 to invalidatecertain cached data, based on received responses from the applicationserver/provider 310. The cached data is marked as invalid, and can getreplaced or deleted when new content is received from the content server310.

Note that data change can be detected by the detector 347 in one or moreways. For example, the server/provider 310 can notify the host server300 upon a change. The change can also be detected at the host server300 in response to a direct poll of the source server/provider 310. Insome instances, the proxy server 325 can in addition, pre-load the localcache on the device 350 with the new/updated data. This can be performedwhen the host server 300 detects that the radio on the mobile device isalready in use, or when the server 300 has additional content/data to besent to the device 350.

One or more the above mechanisms can be implemented simultaneously oradjusted/configured based on application (e.g., different policies fordifferent servers/providers 310). In some instances, the sourceprovider/server 310 may notify the host 300 for certain types of events(e.g., events meeting a priority threshold level). In addition, theprovider/server 310 may be configured to notify the host 300 at specifictime intervals, regardless of event priority.

In one embodiment, the proxy server 325 of the host 300 canmonitor/track responses received for the data request from the contentsource for changed results prior to returning the result to the mobiledevice, such monitoring may be suitable when data request to the contentsource has yielded same results to be returned to the mobile device,thus preventing network/power consumption from being used when no newchanges are made to a particular requested. The local proxy of thedevice 350 can instruct the proxy server 325 to perform such monitoringor the proxy server 325 can automatically initiate such a process uponreceiving a certain number of the same responses (e.g., or a number ofthe same responses in a period of time) for a particular request.

In one embodiment, the server 300, through the activity/behaviorawareness module 366, is able to identify or detect user activity at adevice that is separate from the mobile device 350. For example, themodule 366 may detect that a user's message inbox (e.g., email or typesof inbox) is being accessed. This can indicate that the user isinteracting with his/her application using a device other than themobile device 350 and may not need frequent updates, if at all.

The server 300, in this instance, can thus decrease the frequency withwhich new or updated content is sent to the mobile device 350, oreliminate all communication for as long as the user is detected to beusing another device for access. Such frequency decrease may beapplication specific (e.g., for the application with which the user isinteracting with on another device), or it may be a general frequencydecrease (E.g., since the user is detected to be interacting with oneserver or one application via another device, he/she could also use itto access other services.) to the mobile device 350.

In one embodiment, the host server 300 is able to poll content sources310 on behalf of devices 350 to conserve power or battery consumption ondevices 350. For example, certain applications on the mobile device 350can poll its respective server 310 in a predictable recurring fashion.Such recurrence or other types of application behaviors can be trackedby the activity/behavior module 366 in the proxy controller 365. Thehost server 300 can thus poll content sources 310 for applications onthe mobile device 350 that would otherwise be performed by the device350 through a wireless (e.g., including cellular connectivity). The hostserver can poll the sources 310 for new or changed data by way of theHTTP access engine 345 to establish HTTP connection or by way of radiocontroller 396 to connect to the source 310 over the cellular network.When new or changed data is detected, the new data detector 347 cannotify the device 350 that such data is available and/or provide thenew/changed data to the device 350.

In one embodiment, the connection manager 395 determines that the mobiledevice 350 is unavailable (e.g., the radio is turned off) and utilizesSMS to transmit content to the device 350, for instance, via the SMSCshown in the example of FIG. 1C. SMS is used to transmit invalidationmessages, batches of invalidation messages, or even content in the casewhere the content is small enough to fit into just a few (usually one ortwo) SMS messages. This avoids the need to access the radio channel tosend overhead information. The host server 300 can use SMS for certaintransactions or responses having a priority level above a threshold orotherwise meeting a criteria. The server 300 can also utilize SMS as anout-of-band trigger to maintain or wake-up an IP connection as analternative to maintaining an always-on IP connection. In oneembodiment, connection manager 395 may include an Internet/WiFicontroller 397 for this purpose.

In one embodiment, the connection manager 395 in the proxy server 325(e.g., the heartbeat manager 398) can generate and/or transmit heartbeatmessages on behalf of connected devices 350 to maintain a backendconnection with a provider 310 for applications running on devices 350.

For example, in the distributed proxy system, local cache on the device350 can prevent any or all heartbeat messages needed to maintain TCP/IPconnections required for applications from being sent over the cellular,or other, network and instead rely on the proxy server 325 on the hostserver 300 to generate and/or send the heartbeat messages to maintain aconnection with the backend (e.g., application server/provider 110 inthe example of FIG. 1A). The proxy server can generate the keep-alive(heartbeat) messages independent of the operations of the local proxy onthe mobile device.

The repositories 312, 314, and/or 316 can additionally store software,descriptive data, images, system information, drivers, and/or any otherdata item utilized by other components of the host server 300 and/or anyother servers for operation. The repositories may be managed by adatabase management system (DBMS), for example, which may be but is notlimited to Oracle, DB2, Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server,PostgreSQL, MySQL, FileMaker, etc.

The repositories can be implemented via object-oriented technologyand/or via text files and can be managed by a distributed databasemanagement system, an object-oriented database management system(OODBMS) (e.g., ConceptBase, FastDB Main Memory Database ManagementSystem, JDOInstruments, ObjectDB, etc.), an object-relational databasemanagement system (ORDBMS) (e.g., Informix, OpenLink Virtuoso, VMDS,etc.), a file system, and/or any other convenient or known databasemanagement package.

FIG. 3B depicts a block diagram illustrating a further example ofcomponents in the caching policy manager 355 in the cache system shownin the example of FIG. 3A which is capable of caching and adaptingcaching strategies for application (e.g., mobile application) behaviorand/or network conditions.

The caching policy manager 355, in one embodiment, can further include ametadata generator 303, a cache look-up engine 305, an applicationprotocol module 356, a content source monitoring engine 357 having apoll schedule manager 358, a response analyzer 361, and/or an updated ornew content detector 359. In one embodiment, the poll schedule manager358 further includes a host timing simulator 358 a, a long poll requestdetector/manager 358 b, a schedule update engine 358 c, and/or a timeadjustment engine 358 d. The metadata generator 303 and/or the cachelook-up engine 305 can be coupled to the cache 335 (or, server cache)for modification or addition to cache entries or querying thereof.

In one embodiment, the proxy server (e.g., the proxy server 125 or 325of the examples of FIGS. 1B-1C and FIG. 3A) can monitor a content sourcefor new or changed data via the monitoring engine 357. The proxy server,as shown, is an entity external to the mobile device 250 of FIG. 2A-B.The content source (e.g., application server/content provider 110 ofFIGS. 1B-1C) can be one that has been identified to the proxy server(e.g., by the local proxy) as having content that is being locallycached on a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 150 or 250). The contentsource can be monitored, for example, by the monitoring engine 357 at afrequency that is based on polling frequency of the content source atthe mobile device. The poll schedule can be generated, for example, bythe local proxy and sent to the proxy server. The poll frequency can betracked and/or managed by the poll schedule manager 358.

For example, the proxy server can poll the host (e.g., contentprovider/application server) on behalf of the mobile device and simulatethe polling behavior of the client to the host via the host timingsimulator 358 a. The polling behavior can be simulated to includecharacteristics of a long poll request-response sequences experienced ina persistent connection with the host (e.g., by the long poll requestdetector/manager 358 b). Note that once a polling interval/behavior isset, the local proxy 275 on the device-side and/or the proxy server 325on the server-side can verify whether application and applicationserver/content host behavior match or can be represented by thispredicted pattern. In general, the local proxy and/or the proxy servercan detect deviations and, when appropriate, re-evaluate and compute,determine, or estimate another polling interval.

In one embodiment, the caching policy manager 355 on the server-side ofthe distribute proxy can, in conjunction with or independent of theproxy server 275 on the mobile device, identify or detect long pollrequests. For example, the caching policy manager 355 can determine athreshold value to be used in comparison with a response delay intervaltime in a request-response sequence for an application request toidentify or detect long poll requests, possible long poll requests(e.g., requests for a persistent connection with a host with which theclient communicates including, but not limited to, a long-held HTTPrequest, a persistent connection enabling COMET style push, request forHTTP streaming, etc.), or other requests which can otherwise be treatedas a long poll request.

For example, the threshold value can be determined by the proxy 325using response delay interval times for requests generated byclients/applications across mobile devices which may be serviced bymultiple different cellular or wireless networks. Since the proxy 325resides on host 300 is able to communicate with multiple mobile devicesvia multiple networks, the caching policy manager 355 has access toapplication/client information at a global level which can be used insetting threshold values to categorize and detect long polls.

By tracking response delay interval times across applications acrossdevices over different or same networks, the caching policy manager 355can set one or more threshold values to be used in comparison withresponse delay interval times for long poll detection. Threshold valuesset by the proxy server 325 can be static or dynamic, and can beassociated with conditions and/or a time-to-live (an expirationtime/date in relative or absolute terms).

In addition, the caching policy manager 355 of the proxy 325 can furtherdetermine the threshold value, in whole or in part, based on networkdelays of a given wireless network, networks serviced by a given carrier(service provider), or multiple wireless networks. The proxy 325 canalso determine the threshold value for identification of long pollrequests based on delays of one or more application server/contentprovider (e.g., 110) to which application (e.g., mobile application) ormobile client requests are directed.

The proxy server can detect new or changed data at a monitored contentsource and transmits a message to the mobile device notifying it of sucha change such that the mobile device (or the local proxy on the mobiledevice) can take appropriate action (e.g., to invalidate the cacheelements in the local cache). In some instances, the proxy server (e.g.,the caching policy manager 355) upon detecting new or changed data canalso store the new or changed data in its cache (e.g., the server cache135 or 335 of the examples of FIG. 1C and FIG. 3A, respectively). Thenew/updated data stored in the server cache 335 can be used in someinstances to satisfy content requests at the mobile device; for example,it can be used after the proxy server has notified the mobile device ofthe new/changed content and that the locally cached content has beeninvalidated.

The metadata generator 303, similar to the metadata generator 203 shownin the example of FIG. 2B, can generate metadata for responses cachedfor requests at the mobile device 250. The metadata generator 303 cangenerate metadata for cache entries stored in the server cache 335.Similarly, the cache look-up engine 305 can include the same or similarfunctions are those described for the cache look-up engine 205 shown inthe example of FIG. 2B.

The response analyzer 361 can perform any or all of the functionalitiesrelated to analyzing responses received for requests generated at themobile device 250 in the same or similar fashion to the responseanalyzer 246 d of the local proxy shown in the example of FIG. 2B. Sincethe proxy server 325 is able to receive responses from the applicationserver/content source 310 directed to the mobile device 250, the proxyserver 325 (e.g., the response analyzer 361) can perform similarresponse analysis steps to determine cacheability, as described for theresponse analyzer of the local proxy. The responses can be analyzed inaddition to or in lieu of the analysis that can be performed at thelocal proxy 275 on the mobile device 250.

Furthermore, the schedule update engine 358 c can update the pollinginterval of a given application server/content host based on applicationrequest interval changes of the application at the mobile device 250 asdescribed for the schedule update engine in the local proxy 275. Thetime adjustment engine 358 d can set an initial time at which polls ofthe application server/content host is to begin to prevent the servingof out of date content once again before serving fresh content asdescribed for the schedule update engine in the local proxy 275. Boththe schedule updating and the time adjustment algorithms can beperformed in conjunction with or in lieu of the similar processesperformed at the local proxy 275 on the mobile device 250.

FIG. 3C depicts a block diagram illustrating another example ofcomponents in the caching policy manager 355 in the proxy server 375 onthe server-side of the distributed proxy system shown in the example ofFIG. 3A which is capable of managing and detecting cache defeatingmechanisms and monitoring content sources.

The caching policy manager 355, in one embodiment, can further include acache defeating source manager 352, a content source monitoring engine357 having a poll schedule manager 358, and/or an updated or new contentdetector 359. The cache defeating source manager 352 can further includean identifier modifier module 353 and/or an identifier pattern trackingmodule 354.

In one embodiment, the proxy server (e.g., the proxy server 125 or 325of the examples of FIGS. 1B-1C and FIG. 3A) can monitor a content sourcefor new or changed data via the monitoring engine 357. The contentsource (e.g., application server/content provider 110 of FIGS. 1B-1C or310 of FIG. 3A) can be one that has been identified to the proxy server(e.g., by the local proxy) as having content that is being locallycached on a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 150 or 250). The contentsource 310 can be monitored, for example, by the monitoring engine 357at a frequency that is based on polling frequency of the content sourceat the mobile device. The poll schedule can be generated, for example,by the local proxy and sent to the proxy server 325. The poll frequencycan be tracked and/or managed by the poll schedule manager 358.

In one embodiment, the proxy server 325 uses a normalized identifier ormodified identifier in polling the content source 310 to detect new orchanged data (responses). The normalized identifier or modifiedidentifier can also be used by the proxy server 325 in storing responseson the server cache 335. In general, the normalized or modifiedidentifiers can be used when cache defeat mechanisms are employed forcacheable content. Cache defeat mechanisms can be in the form of achanging parameter in an identifier such as a URI or URL and can includea changing time/data parameter, a randomly varying parameter, or othertypes parameters.

The normalized identifier or modified identifier removes or otherwisereplaces the changing parameter for association with subsequent requestsand identification of associated responses and can also be used to pollthe content source. In one embodiment, the modified identifier isgenerated by the cache defeating source manager 352 (e.g., theidentifier modifier module 353) of the caching policy manager 355 on theproxy server 325 (server-side component of the distributed proxysystem). The modified identifier can utilize a substitute parameter(which is generally static over a period of time) in place of thechanging parameter that is used to defeat cache.

The cache defeating source manager 352 optionally includes theidentifier pattern tracking module 354 to track, store, and monitor thevarious modifications of an identifier or identifiers that addresscontent for one or more content sources (e.g., applicationserver/content host 110 or 310) to continuously verify that the modifiedidentifiers and/or normalized identifiers used by the proxy server 325to poll the content sources work as predicted or intended (e.g., receivethe same responses or responses that are otherwise still relevantcompared to the original, unmodified identifier).

In the event that the pattern tracking module 354 detects a modificationor normalization of an identifier that causes erratic or unpredictablebehavior (e.g., unexpected responses to be sent) on the content source,the tracking module 354 can log the modification and instruct the cachedefeating source manager 352 to generate anothermodification/normalization, or notify the local proxy (e.g., local proxy275) to generate another modification/normalization for use in pollingthe content source. In the alternative or in parallel, the requests fromthe given mobile application/client on the mobile device (e.g., mobiledevice 250) can temporarily be sent across the network to the contentsource for direct responses to be provided to the mobile device and/oruntil a modification of an identifier which works can be generated.

In one embodiment, responses are stored as server cache elements in theserver cache when new or changed data is detected for a response that isalready stored on a local cache (e.g., cache 285) of the mobile device(e.g., mobile device 250). Therefore, the mobile device or local proxy275 can connect to the proxy server 325 to retrieve the new or changeddata for a response to a request which was previously cached locally inthe local cache 285 (now invalid, out-dated, or otherwise determined tobe irrelevant).

The proxy server 325 can detect new or changed data at a monitoredapplication server/content host 310 and transmits a message to themobile device notifying it of such a change such that the mobile device(or the local proxy on the mobile device) can take appropriate action(e.g., to invalidate the cache elements in the local cache). In someinstances, the proxy server (e.g., the caching policy manager 355), upondetecting new or changed data, can also store the new or changed data inits cache (e.g., the server cache 135 or 335 of the examples of FIG. 1Cand FIG. 3A, respectively). The updated/new data stored in the servercache can be used, in some instances, to satisfy content requests at themobile device; for example, it can be used after the proxy server hasnotified the mobile device of the new/changed content and that thelocally cached content has been invalidated.

FIG. 3D depicts a block diagram illustrating examples of additionalcomponents in proxy server 325 shown in the example of FIG. 3A which isfurther capable of performing mobile traffic categorization and policyimplementation based on application behavior and/or traffic priority.

In one embodiment of the proxy server 325, the traffic shaping engine375 is further coupled to a traffic analyzer 336 for categorizing mobiletraffic for policy definition and implementation for mobile traffic andtransactions directed to one or more mobile devices (e.g., mobile device250 of FIG. 2A-2D) or to an application server/content host (e.g., 110of FIGS. 1B-1C). In general, the proxy server 325 is remote from themobile devices and remote from the host server, as shown in the examplesof FIGS. 1B-1C. The proxy server 325 or the host server 300 can monitorthe traffic for multiple mobile devices and is capable of categorizingtraffic and devising traffic policies for different mobile devices.

In addition, the proxy server 325 or host server 300 can operate withmultiple carriers or network operators and can implementcarrier-specific policies relating to categorization of traffic andimplementation of traffic policies for the various categories. Forexample, the traffic analyzer 336 of the proxy server 325 or host server300 can include one or more of, a prioritization engine 341 a, a timecriticality detection engine 341 b, an application state categorizer 341c, and/or an application traffic categorizer 341 d.

Each of these engines or modules can track different criterion for whatis considered priority, time critical, background/foreground, orinteractive/maintenance based on different wireless carriers. Differentcriterion may also exist for different mobile device types (e.g., devicemodel, manufacturer, operating system, etc.). In some instances, theuser of the mobile devices can adjust the settings or criterionregarding traffic category and the proxy server 325 is able to track andimplement these user adjusted/configured settings.

In one embodiment, the traffic analyzer 336 is able to detect,determined, identify, or infer, the activity state of an application onone or more mobile devices (e.g., mobile device 150 or 250) whichtraffic has originated from or is directed to, for example, via theapplication state categorizer 341 c and/or the traffic categorizer 341d. The activity state can be determined based on whether the applicationis in a foreground or background state on one or more of the mobiledevices (via the application state categorizer 341 c) since the trafficfor a foreground application vs. a background application may be handleddifferently to optimize network use.

In the alternate or in combination, the activity state of an applicationcan be determined by the wirelessly connected mobile devices (e.g., viathe application behavior detectors in the local proxies) andcommunicated to the proxy server 325. For example, the activity statecan be determined, detected, identified, or inferred with a level ofcertainty of heuristics, based on the backlight status at mobile devices(e.g., by a backlight detector) or other software agents or hardwaresensors on the mobile device, including but not limited to, resistivesensors, capacitive sensors, ambient light sensors, motion sensors,touch sensors, etc. In general, if the backlight is on, the traffic canbe treated as being or determined to be generated from an applicationthat is active or in the foreground, or the traffic is interactive. Inaddition, if the backlight is on, the traffic can be treated as being ordetermined to be traffic from user interaction or user activity, ortraffic containing data that the user is expecting within some timeframe.

The activity state can be determined from assessing, determining,evaluating, inferring, identifying user activity at the mobile device250 (e.g., via the user activity module 215) and communicated to theproxy server 325. In one embodiment, the activity state is determinedbased on whether the traffic is interactive traffic or maintenancetraffic. Interactive traffic can include transactions from responses andrequests generated directly from user activity/interaction with anapplication and can include content or data that a user is waiting orexpecting to receive. Maintenance traffic may be used to support thefunctionality of an application which is not directly detected by auser. Maintenance traffic can also include actions or transactions thatmay take place in response to a user action, but the user is notactively waiting for or expecting a response.

The time criticality detection engine 341 b can generally determine,identify, infer the time sensitivity of data contained in traffic sentfrom the mobile device 250 or to the mobile device from the host server300 or proxy server 325, or the application server (e.g., appserver/content source 110). For example, time sensitive data caninclude, status updates, stock information updates, IM presenceinformation, email messages or other messages, actions generated frommobile gaming applications, webpage requests, location updates, etc.

Data that is not time sensitive or time critical, by nature of thecontent or request, can include requests to delete messages,mark-as-read or edited actions, application-specific actions such as aadd-friend or delete-friend request, certain types of messages, or otherinformation which does not frequently changing by nature, etc. In someinstances when the data is not time critical, the timing with which toallow the traffic to be sent to a mobile device is based on when thereis additional data that needs to the sent to the same mobile device. Forexample, traffic shaping engine 375 can align the traffic with one ormore subsequent transactions to be sent together in a single power-onevent of the mobile device radio (e.g., using the alignment module 378and/or the batching module 377). The alignment module 378 can also alignpolling requests occurring close in time directed to the same hostserver, since these request are likely to be responded to with the samedata.

In general, whether new or changed data is sent from a host server to amobile device can be determined based on whether an application on themobile device to which the new or changed data is relevant, is runningin a foreground (e.g., by the application state categorizer 341 c), orthe priority or time criticality of the new or changed data. The proxyserver 325 can send the new or changed data to the mobile device if theapplication is in the foreground on the mobile device, or if theapplication is in the foreground and in an active state interacting witha user on the mobile device, and/or whether a user is waiting for aresponse that would be provided in the new or changed data. The proxyserver 325 (or traffic shaping engine 375) can send the new or changeddata that is of a high priority or is time critical.

Similarly, the proxy server 325 (or the traffic shaping engine 375) cansuppressing the sending of the new or changed data if the application isin the background on the mobile device. The proxy server 325 can alsosuppress the sending of the new or changed data if the user is notwaiting for the response provided in the new or changed data; whereinthe suppressing is performed by a proxy server coupled to the hostserver and able to wirelessly connect to the mobile device.

In general, if data, including new or change data is of a low priorityor is not time critical, the proxy server can waiting to transfer thedata until after a time period, or until there is additional data to besent (e.g. via the alignment module 378 and/or the batching module 377).

Client-Side Proxy

It is noted that, in the following, certain acronyms are used forconvenience. Their functional descriptions are introduced throughoutthis disclosure as well as documents cited herein.

Acronym Meaning RR Responses to Requests D Delay RMP Rapid Manual PollRLP Rapid Long Poll RI Request Interval IT Idle Time RT Response Time LPLong Poll

FIG. 4A depicts a block diagram illustrating another example ofclient-side components in a distributed proxy and cache system, furtherincluding an extended caching optimization engine.

FIG. 4B depicts a block diagram illustrating additional components inthe extended caching optimization engine shown in the example of FIG.4A.

It is noted that the functionalities of these modules 402-406 may beincluded, either partially or wholly, in the one or more modulesintroduced in FIGS. 2A-2D. For example, the optimization engine 401 canbe merged with, work as a portion of, communicate with, supplement, orcooperate with the request/transaction manager 235, the caching policymanager 245, the traffic shaping engine 255, the connection manager 265,etc.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the extended cachingoptimization (ECO) engine 401 can detect or determine various external,internal, or derived factors using various detection, monitor, andpattern extraction modules 402-408. Examples of these factors mayinclude: (1) determination of user inactivity (e.g., based on screenstate, motion sensors, and so forth; (2) determination of radioavailability; (3) prediction of user activity based on previouspatterns; or (4) network health state (e.g. congestion).

Based on these factors (and/or based on different setting levels of theconfigurable ECO settings, as mentioned earlier), the optimizationengine 401 can determine (or take more chances in) whether it shouldcontinue to rely on one or more particular data stored in the localcache 285. In some embodiments, the determination can be probabilisticinstead of deterministic.

More specifically, to decide whether to refresh one or more data in thecache 285, a cache freshness determination module 420 can determinebased on at least one or more of (1) the ECO setting level 410, (2) theactual freshness of the data, and (3) the device specific informationincluding, for example, whether the user is using the device, howimportant the polling application is, whether the device is low inbattery or in a congested network, or whether the user is driving, etc.

For purposes of discussion herein, “continuing to rely on cache” meansthat the ECO algorithm (e.g., as implemented in the optimization engine401) continues to consider the data stored in the cache are fresh anduseable (a) when the determination of freshness is unknown (e.g., wherethe server that is monitoring the freshness is unable to retrieve theresource to determine the freshness—but content may be fresh), or (b)when the ECO algorithm knows that the resource is not fresh, but whensituational factors listed above allow relaxing the strict freshnessrequirements and taking more chances as either user is not believed toneed the data, or network resources need to be preserved.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, the optimization engine 402 allowscaching proxies (e.g., local proxy 105, FIG. 1A; client-side proxy 175,FIG. 1E) to serve data that is not known to be fresh (or in some cases,known to be not fresh). This technique can be applied to (a) resourcescached (e.g., in local cache 285) by the polling logics (not shown inFIG. 4B for simplicity) and (b) situations where user/network factorsjustify such behavior.

In one example, in order to determine the actual freshness of a response(e.g., whether a data stored in local cache 285 is fresh or stale), theoptimization engine 401 compares its freshness lifetime to its age todetermine if the response has expired. These may be implemented byincorporating protocols and calculations as specified in the HTTP/1.1family of standards. One specific example of expiration calculation isspecified in the section “13.2 Expiration Model” of the Request forComment (RFC) #2616 or 2068 (also known as the “RFC 2616” or “RFC2068”). The calculations of age, freshness, and expiration can beemployed by the optimization engine 401 as a factor or a basis (inaddition to the above mentioned factors including, for example, useractivity, radio state, mobile application characteristics, networkstatus, battery status, display/backlit state, etc) in determiningwhether to poll or refresh content stored in the local cache 285.

Example Functions of Extended Caching and Behaviors Under DifferentSetting Levels

In general, extended caching (which can be also referred to herein asaggressive caching) techniques enable a system (e.g., mobile device 101,250 employing local proxy 105, 275, and/or host host server 111, 300employing proxy server 113, 325 (see also FIG. 5A-5B)) to take more riskin keeping providing application with the cached content in varioussituations described below.

Extended Caching: HTTP Non-Periodic Request

As part of normal operation, the Signaling Optimization client (e.g.,local proxy 105) caches resources on the device (e.g., in cache 185)based on detecting a periodic application request (such as viaapplication behavior detector 236, described above). By default, suchcached resources are served from cache only in response to applicationrequests that match the observed periodicity. Open Channel SignalingOptimization identifies the opportunity to cache content based onobservation of recurring request-response patterns. That is to say,request periodicity typically serves as a basis of request-responsepattern recognition. Both simple and complex periodicities are detected.

However, the present embodiments recognize that applications can make“out-of-order” requests, and therefore the present embodiments includean HTTP Non-periodic-request option which provides conditions upon whichthe client serves cached resources in response to application requeststhat are non-periodic.

More specifically, when application makes a request “out-of-order” incontext of the current polling pattern, local proxy 105 and/or proxyserver 113 do not know whether the content has changed or not; however,given that periodic polling is taking place, the ECO engine 107 and/orECO manager 115 can make the proxies 105, 113 take the risk by notpolling the third-party servers 119 for new data/update. By default,local proxy 105 and/or proxy server 113 take this risk when the screenis off or even when screen is off but the radio is inactive as this israther low risk.

In some embodiments, configuration parameters can be adapted to adjustthis. An example of behaviors under different setting levels the presentembodiments perform is listed as follows:

Setting Behavior 0 Default behavior. Non-periodic requests are notserved from cache. 1 Non-periodic requests ARE served from cache whenthe screen is not lit. 2 Non-periodic requests ARE served from cachewhen the screen is not lit OR the radio is inactive. 3 Non-periodicrequests are always served from cache.

For another example, the present embodiments recognize that aggressivecaching, especially responding to out-of-order requests, can lead toapplication getting into a loop making requests immediately when aresponse from cache is provided, and such loop can go on infinitely andspiral out of control. As such, the present disclosed embodiments aredesigned to safeguard against such bad behavior

It is noted that, for convenience, a client (e.g., local local proxy105, 175, 275) of the distributed caching system can be referred toherein as an “open channel client”, or “OC client.” Similarly, a server(e.g., host server 111, 100, 300 hosting proxy server 113, 125, 325) ofthe distributed caching system can be referred to herein as an “openchannel server”, or “OC server.” The client and the server individuallyor together implementing the distributed caching techniques (includingthe Signal Optimization and Extended Caching techniques) can be referredto as “open channel” or “OC.”

In some additional or alternative embodiments, as the aggressive patternrecognition above leads to recognizing long polls that just happen to begetting a response from the server early (e.g. a new email) as regularpolls (to which an OC client responds immediately), it caused conditionswhere application makes a request, the OC client responds immediately,and application makes immediately a new request, and this loopcontinues. Without aggressive caching, this would only take place forvery limited period of time, as the OC server (e.g., proxy server 113,325), while polling for the resource, recognizes that the origin server(e.g., third-party server 119A) no longer provides this response, sendsan invalidate to the client. Or, if the recognized period is very longand server is polling at such long interval (e.g. hours), and has notobserved the change yet, the requests from the application would havebeen considered out-of-order and passed to the network. However, nowcombined with aggressive caching, this loop can continue for hours,until user turns the screen on, and the invalidate is processed (or therequest is considered out-of-order).

Accordingly, the present embodiments include a safeguard module 440which includes safeguard functionalities to reduce or solve this issue.Module 440 includes two submodules 440A and 440B for detecting thislooping behavior:

-   -   Starting to increase the response delay when immediate same        requests are observed, to avoid battery drain        (Rapid-poll—Battery Drain Safeguard)    -   Deactivate the aggressive caching feature to process the        invalidate and deactivate serving out-of-order requests from        cache (Temporarily Deactivation)

Rapid-poll—Battery Drain Safeguard: One specific example is “ExchangeActivesync,” or “EAS.” Without current techniques, rapid polls andbattery drain can be caused by the distributed caching system. Forexample, when OC would detect RMP (as the delays look more like networklatency, and the observed RIs are too large for an RLP), and OC startsserving from cache immediately and EAS immediately polls again, therebygetting the system in a loop and drains the battery.

Accordingly, the ECO engine 401 includes a Rapid-poll Battery DrainSafeguard module 440A that provides the aforementioned distributedcaching system with a rapid poll safeguard mechanism. Safeguard module440 detects rapidly caching Responses to Requests (RR) (from theapplication polling) and starts delaying responses from the cache,improving the battery life. This can be applicable to Rapid Manual Poll(RMP), Rapid Long Poll (RLP) and Request Interval (RI) polling classes.

These classes are different patterns for pattern recognition. RMPrepresents normal poll with request interval shorter than a threshold(e.g., 60 seconds)), and RLP represents long poll, with response delayshorter than a threshold (e.g., 60 seconds)). More details regardingthese classes are further introduced in, for example, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/274,265, entitled “CACHING ADAPTED FOR MOBILEAPPLICATION BEHAVIOR AND NETWORK CONDITIONS,” filed Oct. 14, 2011, whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, the necessity for safeguard behavior can be detected basedon specified condition, which can be described as “a hit that causes newrequest”.

For example, when arithmetic average of IT (idle time) between twosubsequent “hit” requests is smaller than certain number (e.g., 15 sec),OC starts serving responses from the cache with increased delay D with adefault step specified in code (e.g., 10 sec). OC tracks the applicationif the delayed response is received successfully and the application didnot close the socket (e.g., no IN socket error and app works correctly).The IN SOCKET closure typically happens when: a) the application crash;b) the application don't accept the delay.

In case the socket was not closed, OC keeps increasing D until max value(1.5*Dmin_for_LP) is reached. If the originally detected pattern was RIand max D was reached, OC detects Long Poll (LP) and updates informationabout the polling pattern on the server. If the originally detectedpattern was RMP or RLP, OC keeps HITting with max D until patternexpiration. In case IN socket error was observed, D is decreased with astep interval. If the socket was closed two times in a row, OC cancelssafeguard mechanism for this poll. If the condition for safeguardmechanism is met again, OC starts it over.

Temporary Deactivation: the present embodiments further recognize caseswhere aggressive caching led to OC Client ignoring the resourceinvalidation from the OC Server, while the client application went intoa loop of requesting the resource continuously.

Accordingly, the ECO engine 401 includes a Temporary Deactivation module440B that detects this condition and can temporarily deactivateaggressive caching for the given RR. Any outstandinginvalidate-with-cache or invalidate-without-cache (e.g., invalidationcommands sent from OC server invalidating data stored in OC client'scache, and further indicating whether the OC server has the new data)has to be applied immediately upon entering the temporary deactivationmode. The aggressiveness should be re-activated on a consequentstartpoll.

In addition to process outstanding invalidates, out-of-order requestsare to be passed to the network after entering the temporarydeactivation mode. This, in some embodiments, can be re-activated notonly on a subsequent startpoll, but also if safeguard is deactivated.

Extended Caching: Screen State Change

In some embodiments, in the optimization engine 401's determination ofwhether the screen backlight state has changed, a grace period isincluded that defines for how long the screen has to be off before thestate is considered to have changed. The grace period setting can be aconfigurable parameter. For example, a screen has to be off for Xseconds before the state is considered to have changed when the settingis at the lowest level, and for Y seconds when the setting is at thehighest level.

Extended Caching: Domain Name Service (DNS) Cache Entry (CE) Expiration

The present embodiments recognize that, from a practical standpoint, itis often hard to predict or know what application issues a DNS request(e.g., especially when the request gets hidden when traversing through acertain OS system such as Android), it would be desirable not to havethe DNS requests turn on the radio while the firewall (e.g., asconfigured by OC) blocking the actual application request, therebyresulting in little resource saving because the radio is already turnedup due to the DNS request.

For example, for some particular applications (e.g., WhatsApp messengerapplication by WhatsApp Inc.), even though the WhatApp application maybe blocked by personal firewall rule as implemented by OC client, theapplication is still able to send DNS request (e.g., to“c1.whatsapp.net”) and blocked only when it was trying to connect tothat server.

Accordingly, the ECO engine 401 includes a DNS CE Expiration module 450that caches DNS requests more aggressively to prevent unnecessary radioturn-ons triggered by those DNS requests. In particular, besides beingbased on when an DNS Cache Lookup Query (CLQ) is made to OC client andon a typical time-to-live (TTL) parameter, the DNS CE Expiration module450 can adjust the expiration of DNS cache entries stored in the cachebased on the ECO level settings and/or device specific information.

An example policy setting for controlling the client's behavior wheninvalidating DNS cache entries due to their expiration is listed below.

Setting Behavior 0 regular behavior, DNS Cache Entry expire on DNS CLQwhen the TTL ends; 1 DNS Cache Entry expire on DNS CLQ when the TTL endsand the screen backlight is on; 2 DNS Cache Entry expire on DNS CLQ whenthe TTL ends and the screen backlight is on and radio is up; 3 DNS CacheEntry never expires.

Extended Caching: HTTP Invalidate-Without-Cache

As part of normal operation, the Signaling Optimization client (e.g.,local proxy 105) caches resources on the device (e.g., in cache 185) andrequests the Signaling Optimization server (e.g., proxy server 113) topoll to ensure freshness of a cached resource. If the server determinesthat a cached resource has changed, the server may send an“invalidate-without-cache” message (e.g., via a corresponding module 560in the optimization manager 501) to the client. Theinvalidate-without-cache message notifies the client that the server isnot able to verify the freshness of a cached resource (invalidate) andthat the client should contact the application's origin server directlyfor the next update (“-without-cache”). The can happen when the OCserver is not able to retrieve any content from the original,third-party server, and therefore it is hard to tell whether somethinghas changed.

Accordingly, when server sends client an “invalidate w/o cache” message,the present embodiments can take more risk in keeping to provideapplication with the cached content.

More specifically, upon receiving an invalidate-without-cache message,the default client behavior then is to invalidate the cached resourceimmediately. The Extended HTTP Invalidate-without-cache setting, asimplemented by an “invalidate-without-cache” module 460 that is includedin the optimization engine 401, provides options for the conditions uponwhich the client invalidates the cached resource.

An example policy setting for controlling the client's behavior when“invalidate-without-cache” the cache entries is listed below.

Setting Behavior 0 Default behavior. Cache entries are invalidatedimmediately upon receipt of cache-invalidate message. 1 Cache entriesbased on periodic application polling are invalidated on cache lookupquery with screen lit. Cache entries based on application long-polls areinvalided on screen lit. 2 Cache entries based on periodic applicationpolling are invalidated on cache lookup query with screen lit AND radioup. Cache entries based on application long-polls are invalided onscreen lit AND radio up. 3 Invalidate-without-cache messages are ignoredcompletely.

It is noted that, with “long polling” (see discussion above), the clientrequests information from the server in a similar way to a normal poll.However, if the server does not have any information available for theclient, instead of sending an empty response, the server holds therequest and waits for some information to be available. Once theinformation becomes available (or after a suitable timeout), a completeresponse is sent to the client. The client will normally thenimmediately re-request information from the server, so that the serverwill almost always have an available waiting request that it can use todeliver data in response to an event.

Extended Caching: HTTP Invalidate-with-Cache

As part of normal operation, the Signaling Optimization client (e.g.,local proxy 105) caches resources on the device and requests theSignaling Optimization server (e.g., proxy server 113) to poll to ensurefreshness of a cached resource. If the Signaling Optimization serverdetermines that a cached resource has been updated on the applicationserver, the Signaling Optimization server may cache a copy of theupdated resource locally and send an “invalidate-with-cache” message(e.g., via a corresponding module 570 in the optimization manager 501)to the client. The invalidate-without-cache message notifies the clientthat the specified resource has changed (invalidate) and that theSignaling Optimization server has cached the changed resource (“-with-cache”). The Signaling Optimization client may choose to contact theSignaling Optimization server directly to retrieve the updated resource.

That is to say, when server sends “invalidate-with-cache” messages, itmeans that content as definitely changed, and the present embodimentscan take more risk in keeping to provide application with the cachedcontent.

More specifically, the present embodiments can delay processing of thisinvalidate when screen is off (but process when screen is on, even ifradio is inactive), despite of knowing that the content has changed,because it is determined that user does not need the content as the useris not actively using the device (e.g., via device specific informationmodule 430).

As such, upon receiving an invalidate-with-cache message, the defaultclient behavior is to retrieve the updated resource entry from theorigin server upon the first occurrence entry of either the radio comingup or the application requesting the resource. The Extended HTTPInvalidate-with-cache setting, as implemented by an“invalidate-with-cache” module 470 that is included in the optimizationengine 401, provides options for the conditions upon which the SignalingOptimization client retrieves the remotely cached resource entry fromthe Signaling Optimization server.

An example policy setting for controlling the client's behavior when“invalidate-with-cache” the cache entries is listed below.

Setting Behavior 0 Default behavior. Remote cache entry is retrieved oneither radio up OR application 1 Remote cache resources based onperiodic application polling are retrieved on cache lookup query andscreen lit. Remote cache resources based on application long-polls areretrieved on screen lit. 2 Remote cache resources based on periodicapplication polling are retrieved on cache lookup query and screen litand radio up. Remote cache resources based on application long-polls areretrieved on screen lit and radio up. 3 Completely ignore invalidates.

In some embodiments, all the ignored invalidates can be picked up assoon as the backlight turns on. Also, with the highest aggressivenesslevel, some embodiments can include an extra subscription state “alreadyinvalidated” which would be treated as “polling” while theaggressiveness level is at highest, but would lead to an immediateinvalidate on a cache lookup query (CLQ) otherwise.

An ‘extra subscription state’ represents a subscription that relates toa cached entry and subscription by the client to server to poll for thatcached entry to monitor its freshness. It is the new subscription typethat tells that the cache entry has been invalidated, but the invalidatehas not been processed yet due to the aggressiveness setting.

Irregular Polling Pattern Recognition and Caching

The present embodiments recognize that some applications are to poll ina non-periodic fashion, which can lead to OC client occasionally missingthe requests and re-detecting increasing RI patterns with shorter RI.Once the poll invalidates, OC client tries re-detecting the patternbased on the recent request history, which leads to the same storyrepeating over and over.

Accordingly, in order to improve efficiency (among other purposes), anIrregular Polling Pattern Recognition and Caching (IPPRC) module 480 isincluded to persist the information on the shortest observed RI acrossthe invalidates. The IPPRC module 480 can activate under circumstancesof upgrading an existing increasing pattern to another increasing, witha shorter RI.

It is noted that, as previously mentioned, the Irregular Polling PatternRecognition and Caching module 480 can be working as a part of theoptimization 401, can be working as a supplemental component ofapplication behavior detector 236 (and/or submodules thereof such as thepattern detector 237), and/or can be combined, merged, or separated fromother suitable modules/components in the local proxy 275.

More specifically, as aggressive caching typically only applies torequests that are already being cached, The IPPRC module 480 can detectpatterns in any occasion where multiple requests occur, even if thepattern would violate the previous recognition rules where period 2should be same or longer than period 1.

In addition, IPPRC module 480's can provide functionality which relatesto “semi-long polls”, which is a pattern that are identified where thepattern fluctuates between normal polls and long polls. Typically, thiswould not be recognized as a pattern at all. With IPPRC module 480, itwould get recognized as a long poll.

For one example, if the long poll delay parameter sent by ExchangeActivesync (EAS) doesn't change (and get thus normalized out), but theserver just decides to respond sooner every second time, IPPRC module480 could start caching at the longer interval, as the applicationshould wait for that time, and it doesn't matter if the server respondsfaster, because the application would just issue a new poll andcontinue. In some embodiments, the IPPRC module 440 use max responsedelay from event history to detect LP pattern. In case of semi-long pollpattern behavior OC will start polling after second long D in history

To further demonstrate how the functionality works, example cases areprovided below:

Test Cases

In general, to perform a test case, (1) OC client (e.g., in forms ofsoftware) must be existing (e.g., by installation) on the device; (2) atest tool (e.g., a proprietary test tool “7TestTool,” as provided bySEVEN Networks, Inc.) should be installed; (3) A test resource is neededfor this test case that returns the same response for all requests.

In general, to verify correct results, these steps should be performed:(1) Open 7TestTool application and load the test suite; (2) Startperiodic request; and (3) Observe client log.

The following are the example test cases and the responses.

Summary Pattern/Delay Result Regression Test Cases Detection of 1.Install OC client 1. After 3rd request Rapid Manual Poll should be RapidManual 2. Install latest available detected. Poll 7TestTool. 2. Afterreceiving of 3rd response RR should be 3. A test resource is activated,needed for this test case polling should start. that returns the same 3.4th request should be HITed with delay 0. response for all requests.Pattern [0, 35, 35, 35] Detection of 1. Install OC client 1. After 3rdrequest Rapid Long Poll should be Rapid Long 2. Install latest availabledetected. Poll 7TestTool. 2. After receiving of 3rd response RR shouldbe 3. A test resource is activated, needed for this test case pollingshould start. that returns the same 3. 4th request should be HITed withdelay 20. response for all requests. Pattern [0, 35, 35, 35] Delay [24,21, 21, 21] Detection of 1. Install OC client 1. After 2nd request Longpoll pattern should be Long Poll 2. Install latest available detectedwith next value getRecentTO: recent TO = 7TestTool. 68 3. A testresource is 2. After receiving of 2nd response RR should be needed forthis test case activated, that returns the same polling should start.response for all requests. 3. 3th request should be HITed with delay 68.Pattern [0, 70, 70] Delay [68, 68, 68] Detection of RI 1. Install OCclient 1. After 3rd request RI based pattern should be with delay 2.Install latest available detected. 7TestTool. 2. After receiving of 3rdresponse RR should be 3. A test resource is activated, needed for thistest case polling should start. that returns the same 3. 4th requestshould be HITed with delay 0. response for all requests. Pattern [0, 70,70, 70] Delay [20, 10, 31] Detection of RI 1. Install OC client 1. After3rd request RI based polling should be based polling 2. Install latestavailable detected. 7TestTool. 2. After receiving of 3rd response RRshould be 3. A test resource is activated, needed for this test casepolling should start. that returns the same 3. 4th request should beHITed with delay 0. response for all requests. Pattern [0, 65, 65, 65]OC should 1. Install OC client 1. After 2nd request Long poll should bedetected. redetect RR 2. Install latest available 2. Response delay of2nd response with value 11 from Long Poll 7TestTool. doesn't match thecurrent pattern. to RI 3. A test resource is 3. 3rd request should besent to TC for server side needed for this test case revalidation. After3rd request RI based polling that returns the same detected withinterval: 68. response for all requests. 4. After receiving of 3rdresponse RR should be Pattern [0, 69, 71, 70, 70] activated, Delay [66,11, 3, 0] polling should start. 5. 4th response should be HITed withdelay 0. OC shouldn't 1. Install OC client 1. After 3rd request RI basedpolling should be redetect RR 2. Install latest available detected. fromLong Poll 7TestTool. 2. After receiving of 3rd response RR should be toRI 3. A test resource is activated, needed for this test case pollingshould start. that returns the same 3. 4th request should be HITed withdelay 0. response for all requests. Pattern [0, 65, 65, 65] Delay [35,35, 34] OC should 1. Install OC client 1. After 3rd request Rapid LongPoll should be redetect RR 2. Install latest available detected. fromRapid 7TestTool. 2. After receiving of 3rd response RR should be LongPoll to 3. A test resource is activated, Long Poll needed for this testcase polling should start. that returns the same 3. 4th request shouldbe HITed with delay 25. response for all requests. 4. 5th request shouldbe HITed with delay 25. Pattern 5. Before 6th request [0, 35, 35, 35,65, 65, 65, 65] INVALIDATE_WO_CACHE should be received. Delay 6. 6threquest should be sent to TC for server side [21, 21, 25, 25, 65, 65,65, 65] revalidation. RI should be detected with interval: 70. 7. 7threquest should be sent to TC for server side revalidation. Long Pollshould be detected. 8. After 7th response polling should start. 9. 8threquest should be HITed. Functional Test Cases OC behavior 1. Install OCclient 1. After 3rd request RI should be detected with for requests 2.Install latest available period 47. with pattern 7TestTool. 2. Afterreceiving of 3rd response RR should be [0, 65, 100, 35, 45, 3. A testresource is activated, 65, 70, 80, 45, 67, 65, needed for this test casepolling should start with interval 60. 100, 35, 45, 65, 70, that returnsthe same 3. 4th request should be sent to TC for server side 80, 45, 67]response for all requests. revalidation. Pattern 4. 5th request shouldbe HITed. [0, 65, 100, 35, 45, 65, 70, 80, 5. 6th request should beHITed. 45, 67, 65, 100, 35, 45, 65, 70, 6. 7th request should be HITed.80, 45, 67] 7. 8th request should be HITed. 8. 9th request should besent to TC for server side revalidation. 9. 10th request should beHITed. 10. 11th request should be HITed. 11. 12th request should beHITed. 12. 13th request should be sent to TC for server siderevalidation. 13. 14th-17th request should be HITed. 14. 18th requestshould be sent to TC for server side revalidation. 15. 19th requestshould be HITed. OC behavior 1. Install OC client 1. After 3rd requestRI should be detected with for requests 2. Install latest availableperiod 70. with pattern 7TestTool. 2. After receiving of 3rd response RRshould be [0, 70, 2, 100, 35, 45, 3. A test resource is activated, 10,45, 35, 25, 67, needed for this test case polling should start withinterval 70. 70, 2, 100, 35, 45, that returns the same 3. 4th requestshould be HITed. 10, 45, 35, 25, 67] response for all requests. 4. 5threquest should be sent to TC for server side Pattern revalidation.Polling should start with new interval [0, 70, 2, 100, 35, 45, 10, 45,35, 60. 25, 67, 70, 2, 100, 35, 45, 10, 5. 6th request should be HITed.45, 35, 25, 67] 6. 7th request should be HITed due to it were sent inshort period of time. 7. 8th request should be HITed. 8. 9th requestshould be sent to TC for server side revalidation, temporary RMP shouldstart. 9. 10th request should be HITed. 10. 11th request should beHITed. 11. 12th request should be HITed. 12. 13th request should beHITed due to it were sent in short period of time. 13. 14th requestshould be HITed. 14. 15th request should be sent to TC for server siderevalidation. RMP expired. 15. 16th request should be HITed. 16. 17threquest should be HITed due to it were sent in short period of time. 17.18th request should be HITed. 18. 19th request should be sent to TC forserver side revalidation. Temporary RMP should start. 19. 20th requestshould be HITed. 20. 21 th request should be HITed. OC behavior 1.Install OC client 1. After 3rd request RI should be detected with forrequests 2. Install latest available period 132. with pattern 7TestTool.2. After receiving of 3rd response RR should be [0, 155, 200, 80, 80, 3.A test resource is activated, polling should start. 200, 70, 70, 153,13, needed for this test case 3. 4th request should be HITed. 11, 170,202, 155, that returns the same 4. 5th request should be sent to TC forserver side 200, 80, 80, 200, response for all requests. revalidation.Polling should start with new interval 70, 70, 153, 13, 11, Pattern 60.170, 202] [0, 155, 200, 80, 80, 200, 70, 5. 6th request should be HITed.70, 153, 13, 11, 170, 202, 155, 6. 7th request should be HITed. 200, 80,80, 200, 70, 70, 153, 7. 8th request should be HITed. 13, 11, 170, 202]8. 9th request should be HITed. 9. 10th request should be HITed due toit were sent in short period of time. 10. 11th request should be HITeddue to it were sent in short period of time. 11. 12th-21th requestsshould be HITed. 12. 22th-23th requests should be HITed due to it weresent in short period of time. 13. 24th-25th requests should be HITed. OCbehavior 1. Install OC client 1. After 3rd request RI should be detectedwith for requests 2. Install latest available period 313. with pattern7TestTool. 2. After receiving of 3rd response RR should be [0, 350, 325,400, 323, 3. A test resource is activated, polling should start. 345,360, 300, needed for this test case 3. 4th-19th requests should beHITed. 398, 378, 350, 325, that returns the same 400, 323, 345, 360,response for all requests. 300, 398, 378] Pattern [0, 350, 325, 400,323, 345, 360, 300, 398, 378, 350, 325, 400, 323, 345, 360, 300, 398,378] OC behavior 1. Install OC client 1. After 3rd request RI should bedetected with for requests 2. Install latest available period 295. withpattern 7TestTool. 2. After receiving of 3rd response RR should be [0,300, 310, 296, 303, 3. A test resource is activated, polling shouldstart. 299, 300, 308, needed for this test case 3. 4th-16th requestsshould be HITed. 307, 301, 296, 299, that returns the same 305, 301,294, 302] response for all requests. Pattern [0, 300, 310, 296, 303,299, 300, 308, 307, 301, 296, 299, 305, 301, 294, 302]

The CLQ is a client-internal interface to check from the cache that whatis the status of the subscription—to understand whether we have responsefor a given request in the cache, and is it ok to serve it to theapplication.

Heterogenous Cache Service and Categorization of Responses

The present embodiments recognize that certain requests/responses can becategorized (e.g., as “1-1-1-1-2-2-2-2” and “0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0” types),and they can be served with the response from cache based on theircategorizations, even if polling is not ongoing, based on:

-   -   for one type (e.g., “1-1-1-1-2-2-2-2”) return the latest        response from the network,    -   for another type (e.g., “0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0”) return the latest        cached result.

Accordingly, the optimization engine 401 can include a heterogenouscache service module 490 that expand the scope of aggressive caching tosituations where caching of a specific response has not taken place. Forexample, heterogenous cache service module 490 can categorizeapplications (e.g., based on their requests, and responses to thoserequests from corresponding third-party servers) and the data (e.g.,responses) currently stored in the cache. Heterogenous cache servicemodule 490 can determine if one cached response can be used to serveanother application's request. As used herein, the term “heterogenous”means “out of its origin,” and in context of distributed caching system,it means that the cached response being served to “an application thatis out of its original application” in addition to or in lieu of itsown, original application; for example, a cached response forApplication-A being served to Application B (e.g., providing that theyare determined to be in the same category and thus suitable for thistechnique).

More specifically, according to some embodiments, heterogenous cacheservice module 490 can identify content that could be served from cacheduring the aggressive caching, even if it is not being cached at themoment. In some embodiments, heterogenous cache service module 490 canstore a previously cached content, known now to be stale, to be servedat a later date. Some embodiments of heterogenous cache service module490 can identify requests that are substantially the same, whoseresponses could be used to serve another request. Further, heterogenouscache service module 490 can identify request types for which we cansafely serve the previous response before aggressive caching started. Inone embodiment, heterogenous cache service module 490 may includesubmodules, such as a cache categorization module 490A for categorizingcached data and an application categorization module 490B forcategorizing applications.

Delaying Long Poll Responses

The present embodiments recognize that it can be beneficial to delaydelivery of long poll responses from the network to slow downinteraction between the application and the content server. The presentembodiments further recognize that, even without caching, it is possibleto slow down the interaction between application and server by holdingon to a response from the server—we can know how long the applicationwaits either by observing past pattern, or by reading the informationfrom the request that the application makes—as it does convey thisinformation to the server, so that the server knows when it must respondto not time out the application. This technique can serve, for example,as an addition or an alternative to aggressive caching.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, a long poll response delay module 495can identify the longest possible delay by using a protocol parsingmodule 495A to parse the protocol (the request typically has the longpoll delay the application is willing to wait). In some embodiments,long poll response delay module 495 can identify the longest possibledelay by using a previous transactions observing module 495B to observethe previous transactions to find the longest successful long poll andusing its length to imply the longest possible delay.

Then, long poll response delay module 495 can tune shorter this delaybased on the situation to provide different levels of aggressiveness.Similarly, the aforementioned aggressive caching techniques can be tunedless aggressive by defining maximum period of postponing processing ofan invalidation, or observing activity in some of the output interfaces(such as a notification LED or sound system) when new content isdelivered.

It is worth noting that the present embodiments acknowledge that theremay be little value in delaying long poll responses when aggressivecaching is in use—as aggressive caching does capture almost all of thebenefits already. Thus, when the aggressive caching is operational, longpoll response delay module 495 can function as a “friendlier”alternative option for aggressive caching of long polls—there delayingthe responses would provide a solution where new data from long pollsgets delayed less than with aggressive caching. Similar effect could beachieved by introducing some maximum delay to processing theinvalidation.

Nonetheless, when the screen is ON and aggressive caching is notoperational, delaying the long poll responses (and serving cachedresponses) would provide significant optimization improvements. However,this would be directly visible to the user as well, as the user isactively using the device, but new data is delayed. In some embodiments,this technique can be implemented as a part of congestion management (ascompared to being used as a global optimization policy).

As such, this technique can be seen as extending aggressive caching towhen the screen is on. By serving user stale data from cache, carrierscan benefit from this technique as it provides a way to alleviatecongestion and keep as many users as satisfactory as possible.

As mentioned, long poll response delay module 495 can go hand in handwith congestion management offering and it could be offered as oneoption for managing congestion with other options being aggressivecaching and maybe going as far as blocking apps.

Note that, according to the embodiments disclosed herein, this techniqueapplies delaying on client only; it does not consider delaying at theserver (e.g., proxy-server) which although valid and probably beneficialwould need to have additional considerations, as the server doesn't knowwhether the user is active or not.

Server-Side Proxy

FIG. 5A depicts a block diagram illustrating an example of server-sidecomponents in a distributed proxy and cache system, further including anextended caching optimization manager.

FIG. 5B depicts a block diagram illustrating additional components inthe extended caching optimization manager shown in the example of FIG.5A.

Some embodiments of the ECO manager, such as optimization manager 501 asillustrated in FIG. 5B, can function as a complementary part to the ECOengine 401 of FIG. 4A. For example, the optimization manager 501 caninclude a device specific information module 530 to receive information(e.g., as gathered by modules 402-406 of FIG. 4B) that are specific tothe device, and the cache freshness determination module 520 can decidewhether to refresh cache (e.g., from a third-party server) and/orwhether to feed a certain data to the client-proxy based on devicespecific information, the actual freshness of the data in the cache 335,and the ECO setting level 510, which can be a uniform setting across allclients served by the server-proxy, or can be device specific,application specific, user specific, group specific, or any suitablecombination of above.

Alternatively, the optimization manager 501 can have similar modules asthe optimization engine 401 and functions in a similar way as describedabove with respect to FIGS. 4A-4B. In some embodiments, ECO manager 501may include a safeguard module 540 which includes safeguardfunctionalities and a DNS CE expiration module 550 that caches DNSrequests more aggressively to prevent unnecessary radio power-ups andactivations triggered by those DNS requests.

FIG. 6 shows a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the exampleform of a computer system within which a set of instructions, forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein, may be executed.

In the example of FIG. 6, the computer system 600 includes a processor602, memory 604, non-volatile memory 606, and a network interface device608 for communicating with a network 610. Various common components(e.g., cache memory) are omitted for illustrative simplicity. Thecomputer system 600 is intended to illustrate a hardware device on whichany of the components depicted and/or described in this specificationcan be implemented. The computer system 600 can be of any applicableknown or convenient type. The components of the computer system 600 canbe coupled together via a bus or through some other known or convenientdevice.

Processor 602 may be, for example, a conventional microprocessor such asan Intel Pentium microprocessor or Motorola power PC microprocessor. Oneof skill in the relevant art will recognize that the terms“machine-readable (storage) medium” or “computer-readable (storage)medium” include any type of device that is accessible by the processor.

Memory 604 may be coupled to processor 602 by, for example, a bus 612.Memory 604 can include, by way of example but not limitation, randomaccess memory (RAM), such as dynamic RAM (DRAM) and static RAM (SRAM).The memory can be local, remote, or distributed.

Bus 612 may also couple processor 602 to non-volatile memory 606 and toa drive unit 614. Non-volatile memory 606 may be, for example, amagnetic floppy or hard disk, a magnetic-optical disk, an optical disk,a read-only memory (ROM), such as a CD-ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM, a magneticor optical card, or another form of storage for large amounts of data.Some of this data is often written, by a direct memory access process,into memory during execution of software in the computer 600. Thenon-volatile storage can be local, remote, or distributed. Non-volatilememory 606 is optional because systems can be created with allapplicable data available in memory. A typical computer system mayinclude at least a processor, memory, and a device (e.g., a bus)coupling the memory to the processor.

Software is typically stored in the non-volatile memory and/or the driveunit, such as in a machine-readable (storage) medium 616. Softwareusually includes a set of instructions 618 that cause processor 602 toperform specific tasks. Indeed, for large programs, it may not even bepossible to store the entire program in the memory. Nevertheless, itshould be understood that for software to run, if necessary, it is movedto a computer readable location appropriate for processing, and forillustrative purposes, that location is referred to as “memory”. Thus,instructions 618 may be moved into instruction memory 620 withinprocessor 602, instruction memory 622 within main memory 604, or both.Even when software is moved to the memory for execution, the processortypically make use of hardware registers to store values associated withthe software, and local cache that, ideally, serves to speed upexecution. As used herein, a software program is assumed to be stored atany known or convenient location (from non-volatile storage to hardwareregisters) when the software program is referred to as “implemented in acomputer-readable medium.” A processor is considered to be “configuredto execute a program” when at least one value associated with theprogram is stored in a register readable by the processor.

The bus also couples processor 602 to network interface device 608. Theinterface can include one or more of a modem or network interface. Itwill be appreciated that a modem or network interface can be consideredto be part of the computer system. The interface can include an analogmodem, isdn modem, cable modem, token ring interface, satellitetransmission interface (e.g. “direct PC”), or other interfaces forcoupling a computer system to other computer systems. The interface caninclude one or more input and/or output devices. The I/O devices caninclude, by way of example but not limitation, a keyboard, a mouse orother pointing device, disk drives, printers, a scanner, and other inputand/or output devices, including a display device. The display devicecan include, by way of example but not limitation, a cathode ray tube(CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), or some other applicable known orconvenient display device. For simplicity, it is assumed thatcontrollers of any devices not depicted in the example of FIG. 8 residein the interface.

In one embodiment, computer system 600 may include one or more of thefollowing: a video display 624 (e.g., a screen or monitor), analphanumeric input device 626 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 628 (e.g., a mouse or touch screen), and a signal generator 630(e.g., a speaker or audio output).

In operation, the computer system 600 can be controlled by operatingsystem software that includes a file management system, such as a diskoperating system. One example of operating system software withassociated file management system software is the family of operatingsystems known as Windows® from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.,and their associated file management systems. Another example ofoperating system software with its associated file management systemsoftware is the Linux operating system and its associated filemanagement system. The file management system is typically stored in thenon-volatile memory and/or drive unit and causes the processor toexecute the various acts required by the operating system to input andoutput data and to store data in the memory, including storing files onthe non-volatile memory and/or drive unit.

Some portions of the detailed description may be presented in terms ofalgorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bitswithin a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are the means used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their workto others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally,conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to adesired result. The operations are those requiring physicalmanipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily,these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capableof being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwisemanipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasonsof common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements,symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion,it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizingterms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device,that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical(electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers andmemories into other data similarly represented as physical quantitieswithin the computer system memories or registers or other suchinformation storage, transmission or display devices.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purposesystems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specializedapparatus to perform the methods of some embodiments. The requiredstructure for a variety of these systems will appear from thedescription below. In addition, the techniques are not described withreference to any particular programming language, and variousembodiments may thus be implemented using a variety of programminglanguages.

In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone deviceor may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peermachine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may be a server computer, a client computer, a personalcomputer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, an iPhone, aBlackberry, a processor, a telephone, a web appliance, a network router,switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set ofinstructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be takenby that machine.

While the machine-readable medium or machine-readable storage medium isshown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term“machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage medium” shouldbe taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches andservers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term“machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage medium” shallalso be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encodingor carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machine and thatcause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of thepresently disclosed technique and innovation.

In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of thedisclosure, may be implemented as part of an operating system or aspecific application, component, program, object, module or sequence ofinstructions referred to as “computer programs.” The computer programstypically comprise one or more instructions set at various times invarious memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when readand executed by one or more processing units or processors in acomputer, cause the computer to perform operations to execute elementsinvolving the various aspects of the disclosure.

Moreover, while embodiments have been described in the context of fullyfunctioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the various embodiments are capable of beingdistributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that thedisclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of machineor computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution.

Further examples of machine-readable storage media, machine-readablemedia, or computer-readable (storage) media include but are not limitedto recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memorydevices, floppy and other removable disks, hard disk drives, opticaldisks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital VersatileDisks, (DVDs), etc.), among others, and transmission type media such asdigital and analog communication links.

FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process fordistributed caching of information using extended caching optimizationaccording to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Inthe embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, the method includes, at a mobiledevice for operating in a wireless network, the device including a localproxy for monitoring requests issued from an application located withinthe device to an external entity not located within the device and forstoring, in a local cache, responses to the monitored requests receivedfrom the external entity, identifying a request as one that meets afirst criterion for optimization (step 700).

In response to identifying the request as one that meets a firstcriterion for optimization, an extended caching optimization is applied(step 702). Applying an extended caching optimization includespreventing the identified request from being transmitted to the externalentity and providing a response to the identified request from the localcache.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of“including, but not limited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,”“coupled,” or any variant thereof, means any connection or coupling,either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling ofconnection between the elements can be physical, logical, or acombination thereof. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,”and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall referto this application as a whole and not to any particular portions ofthis application. Where the context permits, words in the above DetailedDescription using the singular or plural number may also include theplural or singular number respectively. The word “or,” in reference to alist of two or more items, covers all of the following interpretationsof the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list,and any combination of the items in the list.

The above detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the teachings to the precise formdisclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, thedisclosure are described above for illustrative purposes, variousequivalent modifications are possible within the scope of thedisclosure, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. Forexample, while processes or blocks are presented in a given order,alternative embodiments may perform routines having steps, or employsystems having blocks, in a different order, and some processes orblocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/ormodified to provide alternative or subcombinations. Each of theseprocesses or blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways.Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed inseries, these processes or blocks may instead be performed in parallel,or may be performed at different times. Further any specific numbersnoted herein are only examples: alternative implementations may employdiffering values or ranges.

The teachings of the disclosure provided herein can be applied to othersystems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements andacts of the various embodiments described above can be combined toprovide further embodiments.

Any patents and applications and other references noted above, includingany that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporatedherein by reference. Aspects of the disclosure can be modified, ifnecessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the variousreferences described above to provide yet further embodiments of thedisclosure.

These and other changes can be made to the disclosure in light of theabove Detailed Description. While the above description describescertain embodiments of the disclosure, and describes the best modecontemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, theteachings can be practiced in many ways. Details of the system may varyconsiderably in its implementation details, while still beingencompassed by the subject matter disclosed herein. As noted above,particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspectsof the disclosure should not be taken to imply that the terminology isbeing redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics,features, or aspects of the disclosure with which that terminology isassociated. In general, the terms used in the following claims shouldnot be construed to limit the disclosure to the specific embodimentsdisclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Descriptionsection explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope ofthe disclosure encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but alsoall equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the disclosure underthe claims.

While certain aspects of the disclosure are presented below in certainclaim forms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of thedisclosure in any number of claim forms. For example, while only oneaspect of the disclosure is recited as a means-plus-function claim under35 U.S.C. §112, ¶ 6, other aspects may likewise be embodied as ameans-plus-function claim, or in other forms, such as being embodied ina computer-readable medium. (Any claim intended to be treated under 35U.S.C. §112, ¶ 6 begins with the words “means for”.) Accordingly, theapplicant reserves the right to add additional claims after filing theapplication to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects ofthe disclosure.

Embodiments

The subject matter disclosed herein includes, but is not limited to, thefollowing embodiments:

1. A method for distributed caching of information using extendedcaching optimization, the method including, at a mobile device foroperating in a wireless network, the device including a local proxy formonitoring requests issued from an application located within the deviceto an external entity not located within the device and for storing, ina local cache, responses to the monitored requests received from theexternal entity, identifying a request as one that meets a firstcriterion for optimization, and, in response to such identification,applying an extended caching optimization. Applying an extended cachingoptimization includes preventing the identified request from beingtransmitted to the external entity, and providing a response to theidentified request from the local cache.

2. The method of embodiment 1 where the first criterion for optimizationincludes a determination that the request matches an observedperiodicity.

3. The method of embodiment 2 where the observed periodicity comprises asimple periodicity or a complex periodicity.

4. The method of embodiment 1 where, responsive to a detection by thelocal proxy of a repetition of a request-response interaction betweenthe application and the local proxy that exceeds a threshold rate,applying a traffic calming technique to signaling messages related tothe application.

5. The method of embodiment 4 where applying the traffic calmingtechnique includes increasing, by the local proxy, a delay betweenreceiving the request from the application and providing the cachedresponse to the application.

6. The method of embodiment 4 including, responsive to a detection thatthe application terminates a connection to the external entity as aresult of an increased delay between sending the request and receivingthe cached response, decreasing, by the local proxy, the delay betweenreceiving a request from the application and providing a cached responseto the application.

7. The method of embodiment 6 including, responsive to a determinationthat the application has terminated the connection to the externalentity more than a threshold number of times, terminating the trafficcalming technique being applied to signaling messages related to theapplication.

8. The method of embodiment 1 where, responsive to a detection by thelocal proxy that the application is requesting content that has beeninvalidated, terminating the extended caching optimization for thatapplication.

9. The method of embodiment 4 including maintaining, by the local proxy,a value of the shortest request interval (RI) between successiverequests from the application.

10. The method of embodiment 9 including using the maintained value ofthe shortest RI to identify a non-periodic request as being associatedwith the application.

11. The method of embodiment 4 including maintaining, by the localproxy, a value of the longest response delay (RD) observed between arequest from the application and a response to the request from theexternal entity.

12. The method of embodiment 11 including using the maintained value ofthe longest RD to identify a request/response interaction as a long-pollinteraction for the application.

13. The method of embodiment 12 including using the maintained value ofthe longest RD as the polling frequency during extended cachingoptimization for the application.

14. The method of embodiment 1 where the first criterion foroptimization includes a determination that the request occurred whilethe mobile device is in a target state.

15. The method of embodiment 14 where the target state includes adisplay of the mobile device is not lit, a radio circuit of the mobiledevice is not active, a power consumption of the mobile device is belowa threshold value, and/or an absence of user activity for longer than athreshold period.

16. The method of embodiment 14 where the first criterion foroptimization is selectable by a user of the mobile device.

17. The method of embodiment 1 where the identified request comprises adomain name service (DNS) request.

18. The method of embodiment 17 including not terminating the extendedcaching optimization of the DNS request until after a threshold time tolive (TTL).

19. The method of embodiment 17 including not terminating the extendedcaching optimization of the DNS request until after a threshold time tolive (TTL) and a determination that the screen is lit.

20. The method of embodiment 17 including not terminating the extendedcaching optimization of the DNS request until after a threshold time tolive (TTL), a determination that the screen is lit, and a determinationthat the radio transceiver is powered on or activated.

21. The method of embodiment 1 where, responsive to a detection by thelocal proxy of a repetition of a request-response interaction betweenthe application and the local proxy that exceeds a threshold rate,applying a traffic calming technique to signaling messages related tothe application.

22. The method of embodiment 1 where identification of a request as onethat meets a first criterion for optimization includes identificationbased on a characteristic of the request, a characteristic of therequested data, and/or a characteristic of the application making therequest.

23. The method of embodiment 1 including, at a proxy server locatedexternal to the mobile device and for receiving requests from the mobiledevice, forwarding the requests to content or service providers,receiving from the content or service providers responses to theforwarded requests, and providing the responses back to the mobiledevice: storing, in a server cache, copies of the forwarded requests,storing, in the server cache, copies of the received responses to theforwarded requests, and responsive to identifying a request/responsepair as one that meets a second criterion for optimization, preventingthe response from being provided back to the mobile device.

24. The method of embodiment 23 where, for each request/response pairidentified as meeting a criterion for optimization, the method includesissuing, by the proxy server, a subsequent request to the content orservice provider on behalf of the mobile device, receiving a reply tothe subsequent request, and determining whether to provide or notprovide the reply back to the mobile device and providing or notproviding the reply according to the determination.

25. The method of embodiment 24 where providing or not providing thereply according to the determination includes providing the reply tomobile device responsive to a determination that the reply differs froma received response stored in the server cache, a determination that thereply has a high priority, and/or a determination that the replyincludes time critical data.

26. The method of embodiment 23 including, at the proxy server,responsive to a determination that the reply differs from a receivedresponse stored in the server cache, indicating to the local proxy thatthe cached resource has changed.

27. The method of embodiment 26 where the local cache is refreshed fromthe external entity immediately.

28. The method of embodiment 26 where the local cache is not refreshedfrom the external entity until the screen is lit.

29. The method of embodiment 26 where the local cache is not refreshedfrom the external entity until the screen is lit and the radiotransceiver is powered on or activated.

30. The method of embodiment 26 including, at the local proxy,responsive to receipt of the indication that cached resource haschanged, invalidating the cached resource immediately, invalidating thecached resource when the screen is lit, invalidating the cached resourcewhen the screen is lit and the radio transceiver is powered on oractivated, and/or ignoring the indication.

31. The method of embodiment 30 further including instructing theapplication to request and receive data from the external entity.

32. The method of embodiment 31 including providing a response to therequest from the local cache instead of from the external entity.

33. A system for distributed caching of information using extendedcaching optimization, the system including a mobile device for operatingin a wireless network, where the device includes a local cache and alocal proxy for monitoring requests issued from an application locatedwithin the device to an external entity not located within the deviceand for storing, in the local cache, responses to the monitored requestsreceived from the external entity, where the local proxy is configuredto identify a request as one that meets a first criterion foroptimization and apply an extended caching optimization, and whereapplying an extended caching optimization includes preventing theidentified request from being transmitted to the external entity, andproviding a response to the identified request from the local cache.

34. The system of embodiment 33 where the first criterion foroptimization includes a determination that the request matches anobserved periodicity.

35. The system of embodiment 33 where the observed periodicity comprisesa simple periodicity or a complex periodicity.

36. The system of embodiment 33 where the local proxy is configured todetect a repetition of a request-response interaction between theapplication and the local proxy that exceeds a threshold rate and applya traffic calming technique to signaling messages related to theapplication.

37. The system of embodiment 36 where applying the traffic calmingtechnique includes increasing, by the local proxy, a delay betweenreceiving the request from the application and providing the cachedresponse to the application.

38. The system of embodiment 37 where, responsive to a detection thatthe application terminates a connection to the external entity as aresult of an increased delay between sending the request and receivingthe cached response, the local proxy decreases the delay betweenreceiving a request from the application and providing a cached responseto the application.

39. The system of embodiment 38 where, responsive to a determinationthat the application has terminated the connection to the externalentity more than a threshold number of times, the local proxy terminatesthe traffic calming technique being applied to signaling messagesrelated to the application.

40. The system of embodiment 33 where, responsive to a detection thatthe application is requesting content that has been invalidated, thelocal proxy terminates the extended caching optimization for thatapplication.

41. The system of embodiment 36 where the local proxy maintains a valueof the shortest request interval (RI) between successive requests fromthe application.

42. The system of embodiment 41 where the local proxy uses themaintained value of the shortest RI to identify a non-periodic requestas being associated with the application.

43. The system of embodiment 36 where the local proxy maintains a valueof the longest response delay (RD) observed between a request from theapplication and a response to the request from the external entity.

44. The system of embodiment 43 where the local proxy uses themaintained value of the longest RD to identify a request/responseinteraction as a long-poll interaction for the application.

45. The system of embodiment 44 where the local proxy uses themaintained value of the longest RD as the polling frequency duringextended caching optimization for the application.

46. The system of embodiment 33 where the first criterion foroptimization includes a determination that the request occurred whilethe mobile device is in a target state.

47. The system of embodiment 46 where the target state includes adisplay of the mobile device is not lit, a radio circuit of the mobiledevice is not active, a power consumption of the mobile device is belowa threshold value, and/or an absence of user activity for longer than athreshold period.

48. The system of embodiment 46 where the first criterion foroptimization is selectable by a user of the mobile device.

49. The system of embodiment 33 where the identified request comprises adomain name service (DNS) request.

50. The system of embodiment 49 where the local proxy does not terminatethe extended caching optimization of the DNS request until after athreshold time to live (TTL).

51. The system of embodiment 49 where the local proxy does not terminatethe extended caching optimization of the DNS request until after athreshold time to live (TTL) and a determination that the screen is lit.

52. The system of embodiment 49 where the local proxy does not terminatethe extended caching optimization of the DNS request until after athreshold time to live (TTL), a determination that the screen is lit,and a determination that the radio transceiver is powered on oractivated.

53. The system of embodiment 33 where, responsive to a detection of arepetition of a request-response interaction between the application andthe local proxy that exceeds a threshold rate, the local proxy applies atraffic calming technique to signaling messages related to theapplication.

54. The system of embodiment 33 where identification of a request as onethat meets a first criterion for optimization includes identificationbased on a characteristic of the request, a characteristic of therequested data, and/or a characteristic of the application making therequest.

55. The system of embodiment 33 including a proxy server, locatedexternal to the mobile device, that receives requests from the mobiledevice, forwards the requests to content or service providers, receivesfrom the content or service providers responses to the forwardedrequests, provides the responses back to the mobile device, stores, in aserver cache, copies of the forwarded requests, stores, in the servercache, copies of the received responses to the forwarded requests,identifies a request/response pair as one that meets a second criterionfor optimization, and, responsive to identifying a request/response pairas one that meets a second criterion for optimization, prevents theresponse from being provided back to the mobile device.

56. The system of embodiment 55 where, for each request/response pairidentified as meeting a criterion for optimization, the proxy serverissues a subsequent request to the content or service provider on behalfof the mobile device, receives a reply to the subsequent request,determines whether to provide or not provide the reply back to themobile device, and provides or not provides the reply according to thedetermination.

57. The system of embodiment 56 where the proxy server provides or notprovides the reply based on a determination that the reply differs froma received response stored in the server cache, a determination that thereply has a high priority, and/or a determination that the replyincludes time critical data.

58. The system of embodiment 55 where, responsive to a determinationthat the reply differs from a received response stored in the servercache, the proxy server indicates to the local proxy that the cachedresource has changed.

59. The system of embodiment 58 where, in response to receiving from theproxy server the indication that the cached resource has changed, thelocal cache is refreshed from the external entity immediately.

60. The system of embodiment 58 where, in response to receiving from theproxy server the indication that the cached resource has changed, thelocal cache is not refreshed from the external entity until the screenis lit.

61. The system of embodiment 58 where, in response to receiving from theproxy server the indication that the cached resource has changed, thelocal cache is not refreshed from the external entity until the screenis lit and the radio transceiver is powered on or activated.

62. The system of embodiment 58 where the local proxy, responds toreceipt of the indication that cached resource has changed byinvalidating the cached resource immediately, invalidating the cachedresource when the screen is lit, invalidating the cached resource whenthe screen is lit and the radio transceiver is powered on or activated,or ignoring the indication.

63. The system of embodiment 62 where the local proxy instructs theapplication to request and receive data from the external entity.

64. The system of embodiment 62 where the local proxy provides aresponse to the request from the local cache instead of from theexternal entity.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for distributed caching of informationusing extended caching optimization, the method comprising: at a mobiledevice for operating in a wireless network, the device including a localproxy for monitoring requests issued from an application located withinthe device to an external entity not located within the device and forstoring, in a local cache, responses to the monitored requests receivedfrom the external entity: identifying a request as one that meets afirst criterion for optimization; and in response to identifying therequest as one that meets a first criterion for optimization, applyingan extended caching optimization, wherein applying an extended cachingoptimization includes: preventing the identified request from beingtransmitted to the external entity; and providing a response to theidentified request from the local cache.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein the first criterion for optimization includes a determinationthat the request matches an observed periodicity.
 3. The method of claim2 wherein the observed periodicity comprises a simple periodicity or acomplex periodicity.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein, responsive to adetection by the local proxy of a repetition of a request-responseinteraction between the application and the local proxy that exceeds athreshold rate, applying a traffic calming technique to signalingmessages related to the application.
 5. The method of claim 4 whereinapplying the traffic calming technique includes increasing, by the localproxy, a delay between receiving the request from the application andproviding the cached response to the application.
 6. The method of claim4 including, responsive to a detection that the application terminates aconnection to the external entity as a result of an increased delaybetween sending the request and receiving the cached response,decreasing, by the local proxy, the delay between receiving a requestfrom the application and providing a cached response to the application.7. The method of claim 6 including, responsive to a determination thatthe application has terminated the connection to the external entitymore than a threshold number of times, terminating the traffic calmingtechnique being applied to signaling messages related to theapplication.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein, responsive to a detectionby the local proxy that the application is requesting content that hasbeen invalidated, terminating the extended caching optimization for thatapplication.
 9. The method of claim 4 including maintaining, by thelocal proxy, a value of the shortest request interval (RI) betweensuccessive requests from the application.
 10. The method of claim 9including using the maintained value of the shortest RI to identify anon-periodic request as being associated with the application.
 11. Themethod of claim 4 including maintaining, by the local proxy, a value ofthe longest response delay (RD) observed between a request from theapplication and a response to the request from the external entity. 12.The method of claim 11 including using the maintained value of thelongest RD to identify a request/response interaction as a long-pollinteraction for the application.
 13. The method of claim 12 includingusing the maintained value of the longest RD as the polling frequencyduring extended caching optimization for the application.
 14. The methodof claim 1 wherein the first criterion for optimization is selectable bya user of the mobile device.
 15. A system for distributed caching ofinformation using extended caching optimization, the system including: amobile device for operating in a wireless network, the device including:a local cache; and a local proxy for monitoring requests issued from anapplication located within the device to an external entity not locatedwithin the device and for storing, in the local cache, responses to themonitored requests received from the external entity, wherein the localproxy is configured to identify a request as one that meets a firstcriterion for optimization and apply an extended caching optimization,and wherein applying an extended caching optimization includespreventing the identified request from being transmitted to the externalentity, and providing a response to the identified request from thelocal cache.
 16. The system of claim 15 wherein the first criterion foroptimization includes a determination that the request matches anobserved periodicity.
 17. The system of claim 15 wherein the observedperiodicity comprises a simple periodicity or a complex periodicity. 18.The system of claim 15 wherein the local proxy is configured to detect arepetition of a request-response interaction between the application andthe local proxy that exceeds a threshold rate and apply a trafficcalming technique to signaling messages related to the application. 19.The system of claim 18 wherein applying the traffic calming techniqueincludes increasing, by the local proxy, a delay between receiving therequest from the application and providing the cached response to theapplication.
 20. The system of claim 19 wherein, responsive to adetection that the application terminates a connection to the externalentity as a result of an increased delay between sending the request andreceiving the cached response, the local proxy decreases the delaybetween receiving a request from the application and providing a cachedresponse to the application.
 21. The system of claim 20 wherein,responsive to a determination that the application has terminated theconnection to the external entity more than a threshold number of times,the local proxy terminates the traffic calming technique being appliedto signaling messages related to the application.
 22. The system ofclaim 15 wherein, responsive to a detection that the application isrequesting content that has been invalidated, the local proxy terminatesthe extended caching optimization for that application.
 23. The systemof claim 18 wherein the local proxy maintains a value of the shortestrequest interval (RI) between successive requests from the application.24. The system of claim 23 wherein the local proxy uses the maintainedvalue of the shortest RI to identify a non-periodic request as beingassociated with the application.
 25. The system of claim 18 wherein thelocal proxy maintains a value of the longest response delay (RD)observed between a request from the application and a response to therequest from the external entity.
 26. The system of claim 25 wherein thelocal proxy uses the maintained value of the longest RD to identify arequest/response interaction as a long-poll interaction for theapplication.
 27. The system of claim 26 wherein the local proxy uses themaintained value of the longest RD as the polling frequency duringextended caching optimization for the application.
 28. The system ofclaim 15 wherein the first criterion for optimization is selectable by auser of the mobile device.
 29. A non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by theprocessor of a computer control the computer to perform stepscomprising: identifying, at a mobile device for operating in a wirelessnetwork, the device including a local proxy for monitoring requestsissued from an application located within the device to an externalentity not located within the device and for storing, in a local cache,responses to the monitored requests received from the external entity, arequest as one that meets a first criterion for optimization; and inresponse to identifying the request as one that meets a first criterionfor optimization, applying an extended caching optimization, whereinapplying an extended caching optimization includes: preventing theidentified request from being transmitted to the external entity; andproviding a response to the identified request from the local cache.